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.
