Paul holds up Abraham as a model to the Romans, because “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rm. 4:3). To this day, Abraham is honored in the first Eucharistic Prayer as “our father in faith.” God gave Abraham the gift of faith, and Abraham trusted in God’s promises. Not as a matter of logical calculation, or weighing the odds, or God making a grand proof beforehand. Abraham believed because God’s grace allowed him to find God trustworthy.
What does it mean for us to believe in God, as Abraham did? It means that we recognize God already at work in our hearts, healing our sinful tendencies and drawing us closer to Him. It means we recognize God as the source of all that is good in our lives—past, present, and future. If I believe in God, it is not because I see it as the best result of a gamble, but because I know God as one who is good. Above all, it means placing my whole life in God’s hands—living in total obedience to God, as I trust in His caring will.