Beyond Horizons
Abraham and Lot travelled together for a number of years through thick and thin of difficult journey. Since their trip from Ur, the Lord blessed them abundantly until their herd and livestock multiplied massively. This created a conflict of interest due to the fact that livestock required vast green pastures, something that will eventually create a clash between Abraham and Lot’s shepherds. Abraham understood that there was no way for both of them to stay together and suggested to Lor the need to live separately. Standing at the crossroads, Lot chose to live near the city of Sodom. The Bible explained that Lot selected “the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.” In other words, the this territory was beautiful, captivating, and promising. It provides a safe future for Lot and his families.
We all know how the story ended, rather than a bright future, Lot’s family sucumbed to the influence of greed and lust. All this began with Lot turning his eyes to the fertile land of Sodom. His sight was blinded with the visible and forgot to see the danger of the city.
Instead of looking at what was visible, Abraham preferred to see the invisible. Although the land that he lived did not guarantee a safe future, but he knew that the promise of God was certain. Through his journey with God, Abraham learned to look beyond the horizon. He understood that this material world was not all that he needed to trust the hand of his maker.
As a human being, we are faced with the same situation, to navigate our life centered on self-survival, or to center our life on God’s mission. If we choose the former, life will surely be comfortable and easy. If we choose the latter, life will be much more challenging and difficult with no certainty of a happy ending. Abraham choose to look beyond the horizon and in the end, his faith prevailed. Shall we do the same?