by Pastor Rich Carlson

I am again amazed as I reread the familiar stories of Genesis. I have revisited Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Today I’m referring to a string of chapters, from Genesis 16 to 36), and I have been impressed by two things:   

1.    How God could be so patient   

2.    How people could be so—for lack of a better term—stupid!

God seems always to be willing to work with what He's got, seeking to bring about good for those He loves no matter how difficult the process or how stubborn the people.          

You probably remember a lot of these stories. Abraham tries to work out God's promise his own way. He fathers a son who is not in God’s plans by a woman who is not his wife, and provides for us the genesis of the Arab-Israeli conflict (Thanks, Abraham).

Abraham lies about his wife for fear God can’t protect him.          

His son Isaac does the same thing!         

Esau and Jacob, children of Isaac, are prone to deception (with the help of mom). The fight goes on within the family for generations.         

Meanwhile, Abimelech, the king of the Philistines (those are supposed to be the bad guys, remember?) has greater moral fiber than God's "faithful" ones.

As I read this, I started feeling sorry for Abimelech. So I began to wonder who the "Abimelechs" might be in our world today.  Who are the people we might judge as sinners, but who, in fact, are more "holy" than we are?         

I had to ask myself about the "Abimelechs" in my world who may need no more than a living demonstration of what it means to trust God, to live for God themselves. For these people to grow in their own faith, they may simply need me to allow God to create within me the righteous life He envisions. I’m glad God is patient. I’m glad He is willing to help us be less stupid than the patriarchs of Genesis sometimes were.

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. "God is Faithful" is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.