Genesis 13:1-4. 1So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. 2Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.
What do you do when you sin? When you mess up? If you make a bad decision, how do you change direction? How do you change a bad attitude that you have?
The answer to these questions is called repentance. To repent is to “turn around” and to go in the other direction. In today’s scripture from Genesis 13, that is exactly what Abraham did. He left Egypt and went back to the Promised Land. He literally reversed his journey step by step until he made it back to the same altar he had built and he called on the name of the Lord again.
Did you know that no matter how bad you mess up you can always go back to God. No matter how long it’s been since you prayed you can always start praying again. No matter how long your attitude has been lousy you can ask God to change it. In Genesis 12, Abraham messed up pretty bad in Egypt. He even put his wife in danger. But Abraham learned that it is never too late to go back to God and his promises.
How did Abraham know that he could go back to God? How did he know that God would welcome him and forgive him? Because of God’s great kindness. Look at Genesis 13:2 again – Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. How did Abraham become so rich? From Pharaoh:
Genesis 12:16. And for [Sarah’s] sake [Pharaoh] dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
In spite of his incredible foolishness and lack of trust, God blessed Abraham beyond his wildest dreams. The riches of the Pharaoh become the riches of Abraham. That’s God’s kindness. That’s God’s grace. Abraham didn’t deserve to be rich, he deserved to be punished by God. But instead God blessed Abraham, just like he said he would.
And that is exactly what God does for us in Christ. Even though we are constantly making bad decisions, with bad attitudes, and bad actions, God is constantly blessing us with all the blessings of Jesus. And the Bible says that this kindness of God should make us want to repent, to turn away from our sin.
Romans 2:4. God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.
The undeserved kindness of God allowed Abraham to return to Canaan and to the altar. The undeserved kindness of God in Jesus allows us to always return to God too. To worship him and trust him. With Jesus we always have a path back to God.
You: What do you do when you sin? Do you repent? Do you try to hide it from God?
You with Jesus: How does knowing that we always have the kindness of Jesus allow us to turn from sin and go back to trusting and worshiping God?
Prayer: Father, I know I trust in many things beside you, mostly myself. Help me to always return to you when I wander away. Thank you for all the endless second chances you give to us. Amen.
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