Let There Be No Strife

I’ve been reading scriptures for most of my life & never have I heard of, let alone cried at, this small story:

Abraham loved his nephew, Lot. A lot. (Just a little Bible humor there)

But they were different. There was strife between them. They & their herdmen could not dwell together in peace.

And so, Abraham said to him, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me & thee” (Gen. 12:8)

Something must be done.

“Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me” (9)

Abraham, a peacemaker & loving uncle, gives Lot first choice of land, & Lot takes the better side.

And “they separated themselves the one from the other” (11)

I’ll do my thing; you do yours.

Lot packs up & pitches his tent toward Sodom- he eventually ends up living there.

Abraham packs up & pitches his tent in his new land & builds an altar to the Lord.

Yes, clearly each had different priorities.

Space = good. Boundaries = good. Protecting personal peace = good.

And yet. When war ensues & Abraham hears that Lot & his family have been taken captive, he is ALL OVER IT. He immediately arms 318 people to help him rescue his nephew.

He did not say “good riddance- he CHOSE that path, he CHOSE to live there!” 

No.

He went after the captors, into the night, into battle, smote a few people, & gets Lot’s family outta there.

He brought Lot back.

Sometimes we are called another way than ones we love. Sometimes we choose separate views & paths. They do their thing. We do ours. We keep our distance to avoid strife, respectfully.

But even though we are apart, in different lands, doing different things, it doesn’t mean we stop caring about them. It doesn’t mean we stop loving them.

It doesn’t mean we abandon them in their darkest hour.

When they need us, we are there.

Lot eventually goes back to Sodom, but apparently is righteous enough to get dragged out by holy men right before the city is destroyed. 

So Abraham hadn’t fixed everything.

But maybe we don’t have to fix everything. Maybe we just show up when needed with the pure love of Christ- who reassures MY imperfect soul: “My kindness shall not depart from thee” (Isa 54:10)

Charity never faileth.

And there’s the story that I liked a “Lot” 😉