Todays reading really raises the bar on Christian behavior and living in a number of ways. Not only am I challenged afresh as I witness Abraham following God's call to step out by faith, but I am deeply challenged by the unselfish and sacrificial way Abraham treated Lot, by giving him first choice of the land. How often in the church today (in fact this is the biggest issue in the church today), we are consumed with fighting for our "rights," or for what we think we deserve. But Abraham puts all that aside as he says, "Let there be no strife between us...we are brethren. You choose what you want and go your way in peace."
It's interesting to note, however, that after Lot moved on, choosing the best and most fertile land, God told Abraham, "It's actually ALL going to be YOURS anyway. Look East, West, North, South... see all that land (even the land Lot took), I'm going to give it all to YOU!"
Regarding Abraham's unselfish deference to Lot, Ellen White writes:
"Here the noble, unselfish spirit of Abraham was displayed. How many under similar circumstances would, at all hazards, cling to their individual rights and preferences. How many households have thus been rent asunder! How many churches have been divided, making the cause of truth a byword and a reproach among the wicked." Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 132
When I got to the second half of today's reading -- Matthew 5 with the beatitudes, I saw how these thoughts were taken EVEN DEEPER. Matthew 5 deserves to have books written about the principles shared here. If we lived and loved with THIS standard of living... Jesus would return and we'd be in Heaven. Wow!! I need to re-read this chapter over and over and pray these words. This kind of love and living will turn the world upside down. And that's what Christ is waiting for. Again, in Inspiration we find these words:
"Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. Were all who were profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain." Christ Object Lessons, p. 69
These chapters are hard to digest in a day! What a high standard God is calling us all to!
Tomorrow's Reading: Gen. 14-15, Psalms 3-4
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