The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. [Genesis 12:1-2 (NLT)]
When God told Abram (later called Abraham) to leave his native country, his nephew Lot joined him. The two men prospered and, by the time they left Egypt, both families had become wealthy. While we often think that our problems come from not having enough of something, Abram’s and Lot’s problems arose from having too much in the way of livestock. When camped between Bethel and Ai, disputes arose between their herdsmen, probably about water, grazing area and which animals belonged to whose flock. Without enough pasture for both herds, Abram realized that they needed to part to avoid any more disputes. Although God had promised Canaan to him, Abram pointed out there was plenty of land for both families and gave Lot the opportunity to pick whatever territory he desired.
Although Lot should have deferred the first choice to the elder Abram, he looked east at the fertile grassy plains of the Jordan Valley and greedily chose for himself what appeared to be the lushest and best land. Abram, however, chose to live by faith rather than sight. Trusting the Lord who had promised him both land and so many offspring that they couldn’t be counted, he settled in Hebron and immediately built an altar to the Lord. Rather than trusting God, Lot simply trusted what he saw and chose to pitch his tents near Sodom. Then, instead of building an altar, he moved into Sodom. If you remember your Bible stories, you know this was just about the worst decision he could have made. The valley may have looked beautiful but it was rotten to the core. Because of its wickedness, Sodom later was totally destroyed, Lot narrowly escaped the destruction, his wealth was lost, and his wife became a pillar of salt.
Lot said, “I will take,” while Abram said, “I will give!” Selfishly trusting himself and what he saw, Lot ended up with nothing; trusting the Lord, Abram ended up with a whole nation! One looked at the possible while the other counted on God for the impossible. What do we learn? Looks can be deceiving, don’t take the best for ourselves, and trust in God’s promises!
Yesterday, I wrote of those times when we’re blind-sided by challenges and difficulty. When that happens, it truly is difficult to accept and trust God’s love and wisdom. Unfortunately, while Jesus made many promises, an easy life was not one of them. In fact, we’re told that troubles are pretty much guaranteed.
For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. [Psalm 18:28-30 (ESV)]
These are the first lines of the Lord’s Prayer as if they were written by a lawyer and, having recently met with our attorney to update some documents, I don’t think they’re much of an exaggeration. With all of their circumlocution, it’s difficult to know what lawyers actually mean. They use vague abstract nouns rather than concrete ones and seem to go around a subject rather than straight through it. Why can’t they use straightforward language and directly say what they mean?
Martin Luther once compared human nature to a drunkard who, after falling off the left side of his horse, resolves not to make same mistake again. He remounts and then, overreacting, leans to the right side of his saddle only to fall off again. His point is that just because one side is wrong, the opposite extreme isn’t necessarily correct!
In January, there will be an Empty Bowls event in our town. Attendees will purchase a bowl and then fill it with soup and bread donated by local restaurants. The money raised will help feed the more than 36,000 food insecure people in our county. To make that event possible, 4,500 one-of-a-kind bowls are made by local potters. Then, with the help of local volunteers, the bowls are painted and fired. Recently, several of us from church gathered to decorate some of those bowls. While we painted, I thought about the potters who made our bowls—how they formed and reformed their creations until they were just right. Varying in shape and size, no two bowls were exactly the same and, by the time they are painted, each will have a personality of its own. When their purchasers are done eating soup from them, they will be put to different uses. The ones embellished with paw prints or bones probably will be used by pets, and the others may be used for popcorn, nuts, cereal, loose change, or even soup!
