Years ago, before I met Holly, I was very concerned to be married. I didn’t like being single. I thought that marriage was necessary–something I needed to “get on with my life”. It was a consuming concern. Paul’s letter to Corinth was a turning point for me. The Lord used it to convince me that marriage was good, but so was singleness. True success and happiness has nothing to do with marital status. It is a function of knowing Christ. In 1977, James Dobson founded “Focus on the Family”. I have great respect for his radio program and ministry. I wonder, however, whether the scripture ever lets us FOCUS on the family as the real answer for life’s questions. While the Bible speaks to marriage, singleness, divorce and sex, the central issue for us all (whatever our circumstance) is the Lord. The time is short, says Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:29. Not marriage, not sorrow, not joy, not possessions is the center and secret to life. Christ is.
I read again today the account in Genesis 13:8 and forward of the division between Abram and Lot, Abram’s handling of it and then the Lord’s confirmation and further elaboration of His promise, first made in Gen. 12:2.
Matthew Henry, in his concise commentary, said, “God will abundantly make up in spiritual peace, what we lose for preserving neighborly peace. When our relations are separated from us, yet God is not.”
And then Abram went to doing his usual thing – he “built an altar unto the Lord.”
Could this be an example of your entry for today? Is it an example of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?