Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz, in his Chidushei Lev to our parsha, asks why it was, in \fact, necessary for God to remind Avraham, of the precise identity and character of the land he was leaving. Didn't Avraham realize all of these things? He answers that although it was true that Avraham knew its identity and had natural feelings for his home where he grew up, God wanted to make sure that those natural feelings should be aroused, and that Avraham leave his home with those natural thoughts in mind. God did not want Avraham to suppress his natural feelings, but to experience them, and nevertheless carry out His command and leave his beloved home. God understood that, despite Avraham's rejection of the idolatry that was a part of his father's home, still, as a normal human being, he retained deep within himself feelings for that home. He did not want Avraham to be a robot and ignore these feelings, but, rather, bring them out and still, out of his greater love for God, leave that home for a new, undisclosed one.
Rabbi Leibowitz goes on to cite the great student of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziev, the 'Alter' literally ' the old man,' or, more loosely, 'the sage' of Kelm, as saying that, in general. God does not want man to suppress his natural feelings, wants and desires in serving Him. H would not have created hi as a human being had that been the case. Man was created with these feelings for a purpose, which is, to use them in the service of God. I believe that it is precisely in regard to Avraham that this idea needed to be brought out. Avraham was the paradigm of chesed, of kindness. In order to perform acts of kindness towards others. It is necessary to appreciate the mind-set, the feelings and the needs of that person. If one suppresses his own natural feelings, he will not be able to relate to the feelings and needs of the other. For this reason, in fact, the Rambam, in his commentary to the Mishnah, writes that an old man should not serve as a judge on the Sanhedrin. Because of his elderly state, writes the Rambam, he cannot fully empathize with the needs of others, and therefore cannot judge cases properly. When we deal with the needs of another person and try to treat him kindly, we need to enter into his thought pattern, to feel his pain and his needs. If we act like robots in general and never express or realize our own feelings and needs, we will certainly not be able to understand how someone else feels.
Avraham, then, was now embarking on his journey to his new home, where he was destined to become the supreme model of kindness for his people and for the world. By performing these acts of kindness, he was reflecting the kindness of God, and thereby teaching people to follow in God's ways. In to be perform these acts in a proper way, Avraham needed to be in touch which his natural feelings and, at the same time, use those feelings to serve God .It was for this reason, I believe, that specifically in relation to Avraham the Torah teaches us the need to bring out and utilize our natural feelings