Thursday, Aug. 22
Genesis 19:30 – 21:21 Read it here
Somehow the myth developed in modern culture that Christian belief is rooted in a naive, sanitized understanding of human nature. I don’t know where that thought comes from, but it doesn’t come from anyone who has ever read the Bible.
Lying, drunkenness, incest, jealousy and child abandonment all figure into today’s story – and all of those are from people we count as heroes and role models of our faith.
There are a lot of reasons we study the Bible, but one that never gets enough attention is the fact that knowing the stories of those we hold up as heroes shows us how ridiculous it is to fall into believing “God couldn’t love me if he knew what I have really done or thought.”
We imagine that the sins God can forgive are those along the lines of saying a swear word or telling someone that what they’re wearing looks good when it doesn’t. But believing that God can only forgive inconsequential offenses underestimates the depth of his love and trivializes his grace.
Yes, God calls us to obedience and to a standard of loving righteousness that is far beyond what we could ever dream of accomplishing, at least under our own power. But the Bible is littered with example after example of God loving and making use of people who have failed him repeatedly and terribly.