Leave Me! / Quarrels 69 [Gen 13:1-9] / Anne's Faith Column

New Zealand / West Side                            Moru

 

Leave Me!

/ Quarrels 69

[Gen 13:1-9]

/ Anne's Faith Column 

 

 

/  By Priscilla

 

"So Abram went up from

Egypt to the Negev,

with his wife and everything

he had, and Lot went with him.

 

 

 

Abram had become

very wealthy in livestock

and in silver and gold.

 

 

 

From the Negev he went

from place to place until

he came to Bethel,

 

 

 

to the place between

Bethel and Ai where

his tent had been earlier

 

 

 

and where he had first

built an altar.

 

 

 

There Abram called on

the name of the LORD.

 

 

 

Now Lot, who was moving

about with Abram, also had

flocks and herds and tents.

 

 

 

But the land could not

support them while they

stayed together, for their

possessions were so great

that they were not able

to stay together.

 

 

 

And quarreling arose

between Abram's herdsmen

and the herdsmen of Lot.

 

 

 

The Canaanites and

Perizzites were also living

 in the land at that time.

 

 

 

So Abram said to Lot,

"Let's not have any quarreling

between you and me,

 

 

 

or between your herdsmen

and mine, for we are brothers.

 

 

 

Is not the whole land

before you?

 

 

 

Let's part company.

If you go to the left,

I'll go to the right;

 

 

 

if you go to the right,

I'll go to the left."

(Gen 13:1-9)

 

 

 

Heavenly Father

had said to Abram,

 

 

 

'"Leave your country, your people

and your father's household

and go to the land I will show you." 

So Abram left Haran for Canaan. 

 

 

 

At that time, God asked

Abram to leave his country

with his wife alone.

 

 

 

However, since he

considered his nephew Lot

to be his son and he could not

get rid of his human

ties with him,

 

 

 

Abram led him and Lot's

household to the land that

God had commanded.

 

 

 

As a result, Abram,

who could not completely

leave his people and his

father's household, faced 

 various problems.

 

 

 

Abram went down

to Egypt to live there

for a while because the

  famine was severe.

 

 

 

Afterward Abram

returned to Canaan

from Egypt with Lot

 

 

 

but he finally ended up

breaking up with Lot 

due to quarrels

 

 

 

between 

Lot's herdsmen

and Abram's.

 

 

 

Sometimes we know

God's will, but not being

able to cut off our

relationship with people

around,

 

 

 

how many times

do we each easily act

according to our own will,

and come into difficulties

we don't need to go through?

 

 

 

Today, God commands us

to deny ourselves, take up

the cross that is given to us, 

 

 

 

and do the Lord's work,

boldly leave the thoughts

bound in various things.

 

 

 

We should sow seed of faith

even if there is famine

and drought in our lives.

 

 

 

God wants to train us

in many different situations. 

 

 

 

Abram firmly told his

beloved nephew Lot to leave,

and from this, we can only

guess how difficult it must

been for them to stay together. 

 

 

 

Where there is quarreling

there can be no peace.

 

 

 

Their staying  together

came out of the humanistic

thought, and it resulted in 

quarreling and separating

from each other. 

 

 

 

When we are satisfied with

and settling for something

that we are in charge of

with a lot of affection,

 

 

there are times when God

suddenly tells us to leave

our hands off that.

 

 

 

Also, there are times 

when He makes us abandon

even the close ties of

flesh and blood.

 

 

 

In the end, the path

we walk while crying! 

 

 

 

That is the way of thorns

that Jesus walked alone

in obedience

 

 

- the narrow way

outside the camp. 

 

 

 

When we disobey Him,

God completely isolates us,

keeps things from going

our own will,

 

 

 

and even ignores our

thoughts and intentions.

 

 

 

Therefore, we should pray to

fully understand the love of God.

 

 

 

So what attitude should we

have in our religious life?

 

 

 

1) We should submit to God!

 

 

 

When wrong ideas come out

of the old paradigm, we 

should kneel down to 

pray in front of God 

 honestly and boldly.

 

 

 

We should always pray

so that it may not lead to

quarrels or disputes.

 

 

 

4) We should obey God's will!

We should focus on and obey

God's will, not our own.

 

 

 

Prayer

 

 

 

Lord!

 

 

 

I admit my own

shortcomings.

 

 

 

According to the power

of God, help me to stay

away from quarrels among

the saints and become

holy saints.

 

 

Amen

 

 

2010/03/08

 

 

/  By Priscilla