Passage: Genesis 13 Speaker: Pastor Lukus Counterman Series: By Faith
Speaker: Lukus Counterman - Genesis 13 outlines a story about how faith can resolve strife. Faced with an insurmountable problem of survival, the two tribal chiefs Abram and Lot were faced with internal family feuding. The servants were fighting over land and water rights for the herds and flocks. What would these two men do? What would you do in a situation of competing rights and limited resources? In the biblical account, Abram and Lot separate to avoid any further strife. One might have expected that in the separation Abram would have exerted his age, authority, and position to secure the best for himself. But instead we are shocked by how he magnanimously offers Lot the first choice of the territory. Lot ends up choosing by sight on the basis of what appealed to him. His choice was selfish, self-seeking, and self-gratifying. Abram on the other hand had such faith in God’s promises that he was free to act generously, righteously, and mercifully. Consequentially, he resolved the dispute and God ended up blessing Abram richly. Genesis 13 teaches us that those who believe in the promise of God’s provision are free to be generous with their possessions.