so picture a beach. waves. a 6 year old kid out in the waves. the water is over his own head, but he's being held by his dad, who's chest-deep. the kid's face is extatic with enjoyment. he's riding the rushes of surging adrenaline. head barely above water. body raised up and over the breakers by his dad's grip... which is gentle enough not to harm, but firm enough to win his total confidence. the kid is having a blast. he's enjoying the intensity of an environment way beyond the capability of his own strength. why? because, whether he's conciously thinking about it or not, he's secure in the arms of his dad. he's 'charging' the waves with complete abandon because he knows his dad is strong enough for them. what reveals the anchor-hold of his confidence? imagine his face turn from abandoned joy to sheer terror if his dad were to let him go.
now switch scenes...
genesis 13... abram (later name-changed to abraham) and lot (his nephew)... find themselves in a sticky sitch. they're both rich in finance and assets, they're both in the same business (herdsman) and the geography can no longer support both of them and theirs. on top of that, their herdsmen are getting into it with eachother over who gets to use what pasture space. so abram takes lot up where they can look at all the surrounding land together. verse 8...
"then abram said to lot, 'let there be no strife between you and me and between your herdsment and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. is not the whole land before you? separate yourself from me. if you take the left hand, then i will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then i will go to the left.' and lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the jordan valley was well watered aeverywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of egypt, in the direction of zoar. ... so lot chose for himself all the jordan valley... and journeyed east."
several contextual things to consider:
-abram is the man. in 'rank,' if you will, he is senior to lot. he likely had authority to tell lot where to go... instead of giving lot the choice.
- abram and lot both have experience with famine (likely secondary to drought, considering the geography) and its effects on their livlihood... (see genesis 12.10). so water is kind of a big deal.
- abram isn't stupid. he's a pretty wise dude with experience. he's not rich and prosperous for being dumb at business. he can look just as well as lot can and see which land is well watered, by a river and fertile to the point of being likened to the garden of Eden. that has to be some crazy sweet real estate. this is kind of a bigger scale, more consequential version of standing over a plate with a friend looking at a sweet, beastly red robin kamakazie or peppercorn burger (my two favs, yes) sitting next to a 69 cent mcdonalds i'll-have-faith-that-its-really-meat wannabe burger and asking... "which one would you like?" seriously?
settling near a river was a job security of sorts, given their line of work. so its a huge deal that abram gives lot the choice of land. so how can a rich, prosperous business man give away the choice land?
i don't think these two scenes are all that different. one is a cute picture... the other one is more where rubber hits the road. but they both go back to essentially the same anchor-hold.
there's liberty in the secure hold of a father's arms.
i'm not a scholar... and this is just my take on this event in abram's life. but worldly wisdom is what we see playing out in lot's decision making. its good sense to go for the fertile land consistent water source. what has been really sticking out to me in this passage is the intense faith of abram. the natural man would choose what seems wise in his own understanding. but what i see in abram is a man who is liberated by his trust in his Father.
what are the biggest factors in my vision and decision making process? do i look first at what makes good sense? at what my wisdom sees best? or am i anchored first in faith in the sovereign goodness of my Father... and liberated by that surety to move outside the box of what seems wise in my own understanding. this, to me, helps me see this familiar verse in a fresh light...
proverbs 3.5-7... 'trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord...'
paraphrasing a quote in closing (because i can't remember who originally said it)... may i trust in both the sovereignty AND the goodness of my Father God. He is always both... never one without the other. in His goodness, He desires the best for us; and in His sovereignty, He has the power to secure it.
there is no more secure or liberating anchor.
