Perhaps it may turn out a sang,
Perhaps turn out a sermon.

-- R. Burns Epistle to a Young Friend

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do



So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. -- Genesis 13:11


As Lot learned through much suffering and loss, the path that looks easy in the beginning does not always end so pleasantly.  Sometimes, too, there are separations that need to take place.  The man who would become Abraham had been called to leave behind his land, his people and even his family to follow God and found a new nation.  Loyalty and love had caused him to keep his nephew, Lot, with him as he sojourned in Canaan.  We read how both Lot and Abram prospered and how the increase of their herds caused conflict that led to separation.

Before jumping too far ahead and saying, “Abraham good; Lot bad”, I note that both men had their weaknesses.  Abraham could be controlled by fear and be less than forthright in his dealings.  Meanwhile Peter’s Second Epistle calls Lot “righteous” and speaks of the torment of his “righteous soul” as he dwelt among the lawless in Sodom (2 Peter 2:7-8).  I’m reminded, also, of the conflict between Barnabas and Paul that caused their parting (Acts 15:36-41).  When the Lord divides us from a friend, associate, or family member, it isn’t always because one of us is pulling the other down or because one is right and the other wrong.  It may be part of a greater plan that He has, the ends of which are beyond our powers of speculation and discernment. 

I think about that a lot these days.  You may have seen that map of the United States where it is divided regionally into, I think, eleven different cultures like the Deep South and Greater Appalachia.  Whether there is much to that or not, we seem to be hearing more talk of secession and of unsustainability of the current national model.  We are seeing greater disagreement between the secular and the sacred, between Muslim and Christian, black and white, left and right, often with violence and bloodshed.  Jesus does say (Matthew 10:34-39) that He has come to divide, to sift and to separate, the believing from the unbelieving, the righteous from the wicked, the wheat from the tares, and the sheep from the goats.

We lament these divisions, conflicts and losses, in part because we do not see the destiny to which they move us, but also because of our natural human affection for one another, for the American dream, for a simpler time, or whatever it is we feel is slipping away.  Abraham never stopped caring about Lot.  He rescued him from the king of Elam (Genesis 14), and he interceded for Lot and his family when God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Death, disagreement, or distance, partings of the ways are unavoidable.  Trust God.  Continue to love the departed and pray for an unbroken circle.


9 comments:

julie said...

Death, disagreement, or distance, partings of the ways are unavoidable. Trust God. Continue to love the departed and pray for an unbroken circle.

Yes, just so. For a little while, I found myself being almost swayed by the fears of those who worry that the future around the world will look a lot less European and modern, and a lot more brown and third-world. They may even be right, for all I know. And yet, I find I can't be bothered to fear such an eventuality. I don't particularly like the idea, specifically the third-world part, but nor do I particularly like the idea that white people should magically be more worthy of God's favor than any other group when they (as a very broad generality) have done everything possible to spit in His face and repudiate the blessings this country had gained. Why should we be favored? Again, speaking very broadly.

The future will be different from the present in ways I cannot begin to imagine. The only thing about it that matters, I suspect, is whether there are enough decent people in it who serve the Lord. To that end, I find I am actually heartened. I know many now who seem to be quite strong in their faith, including no small number of previously lost sheep.

mushroom said...

I don't particularly like the idea, specifically the third-world part

It seems to me that we have a lot of nostalgia for white 1950s America. It was pretty nice. But it was because we were primarily Christians. I'd feel better about a future with a lot of sincere brown Christians than one with all decadent white atheists.

julie said...

Exactly. Come to think of it, I suspect the parable about the wedding banquet applies pretty strongly here...

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"When the Lord divides us from a friend, associate, or family member, it isn’t always because one of us is pulling the other down or because one is right and the other wrong. It may be part of a greater plan that He has, the ends of which are beyond our powers of speculation and discernment."

Well said, Mushroom. Abraham and Lot are a good example of this. Their destiny's were different, and yet their Destiny was the same.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"I don't particularly like the idea, specifically the third-world part

It seems to me that we have a lot of nostalgia for white 1950s America. It was pretty nice. But it was because we were primarily Christians. I'd feel better about a future with a lot of sincere brown Christians than one with all decadent white atheists.."

Yes, I couldn't agree more. As Thomas Sowell has pointed out, in spite of the racism of the 50's which wasn't as nearly widespread as the left would have us believe, black folks were better off. Their unemployment rate at that time was in the single digits, and most black families, and every other color families, were intact with fathers and mothers.
Gangs were a tiny fraction of what they are today, and not nearly as vicious or barbaric.

When I hear borderline or outright racists cry about demographics, and their fear of brown or yellow folks, I do not share in that fear or worry about race. Nor do I worry about interracial marriages.
If they are Christians with Godly principles and good character I don't care what color they are, I welcome them.
God ain't a bigot.

julie said...

"God ain't a bigot."

Yes, a thousand times. The Bible study I attended last year was huge - a few hundred women, at least, and being South Florida they were of every color, shape, size, and background. An extremely diverse community, in fact, but in the best way because every one of those ladies was there to learn about God and deepen her faith. And every one of them, I have no doubt, was precious to God.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Aye, Julie!
That's the kind of diversity I like to see. :)

mushroom said...

Amen.

John Lien said...

Mush Amen, Ben Amen, julie amen.