Today’s Readings: Psalm 1; Genesis 18:16-33; Matthew 26:47-56; Romans 7:21-25; Psalm 28
Lots of folks these days equate being faithful with being submissive and unquestioning. I can certainly understand why they make this equation since it is generally a good thing to be willing to submit oneself to God. Today’s passage from Genesis, however, presents another perspective on what it means to be faithful. In the passage we hear the story of an exchange between God and Abraham concerning the fate of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In that exchange, Abraham – who would later be used as a model of faithfulness by Paul in his letters – conducts himself in an unexpected way: Abraham openly challenges God. Now some folks would read the story and draw the overly broad conclusion that the story’s sole purpose is to communicate the lesson that one can be faithful and still challenge or question God. I certainly believe that that is one important lesson from the passage. But such a broad conclusion would miss out on an important dimension of the story. You see Abraham didn’t challenge God simply as a knee-jerk act of defiance. Nor did Abraham challenge God simply as an act of ego or self-will. No, Abraham’s challenge was grounded in something else: compassion for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. That, I believe, is what ultimately transformed the interaction between Abraham and God from a power play into an act of faithfulness. As you and I struggle to understand what it means to be faithful within the confines of our daily lives, my hope is that may we might have Abraham’s strength and courage of conviction so that we too might be willing to wrestle with God in order to better understand what it means to live a life of faithfulness. Til next time…
Lots of folks these days equate being faithful with being submissive and unquestioning. I can certainly understand why they make this equation since it is generally a good thing to be willing to submit oneself to God. Today’s passage from Genesis, however, presents another perspective on what it means to be faithful. In the passage we hear the story of an exchange between God and Abraham concerning the fate of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In that exchange, Abraham – who would later be used as a model of faithfulness by Paul in his letters – conducts himself in an unexpected way: Abraham openly challenges God. Now some folks would read the story and draw the overly broad conclusion that the story’s sole purpose is to communicate the lesson that one can be faithful and still challenge or question God. I certainly believe that that is one important lesson from the passage. But such a broad conclusion would miss out on an important dimension of the story. You see Abraham didn’t challenge God simply as a knee-jerk act of defiance. Nor did Abraham challenge God simply as an act of ego or self-will. No, Abraham’s challenge was grounded in something else: compassion for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. That, I believe, is what ultimately transformed the interaction between Abraham and God from a power play into an act of faithfulness. As you and I struggle to understand what it means to be faithful within the confines of our daily lives, my hope is that may we might have Abraham’s strength and courage of conviction so that we too might be willing to wrestle with God in order to better understand what it means to live a life of faithfulness. Til next time…
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