From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord. Genesis 13:3-4
I heard a great sermon the other day about Genesis 13. I love how God lets us view people in the Bible with an almost cinematic touch. We reach deep into their thoughts, their trials, their sins, their joys. We can sit back and know they are about to fail or conquer. But like any good director, God places seemingly insignificant artifacts and occurrences into the story that, in order to get the beautiful breadth of the story we need to look again and dig deeper.
That’s the advantage of being in a church which hosts a good teaching pastor. They find the nuggets and carefully remove the outer layers, revealing the gems.
And so, I learned the other day about Bethel. About coming home. About retracing my steps to bring me back closer to God. Two little sentences in the Bible showing me where to go when I feel lost. When I have gone off track. I praise God today for Bethel – for His welcoming home.
Many years ago, I wrote a short poem for my mother in law. The gist of the poem was that like a bird finds its comfort in a beautiful birdhouse, so I find my home with her. A lot of people feel that way around her. She brings you in and gives you rest and comfort. In Abram’s case, after he had made some disastrous decisions while in Egypt, he made the wise choice to go back to God’s house – Bethel. It’s where he had built the first altar to honor God.
He didn’t just show up there, he entered back into communication with God. And he was surely welcomed.
Our human nature is to grow up and out of our parents’ homes. To plunge into the world of adulthood, seemingly going it alone. But for many who come from loving, healthy homes they know they can always come back for advice and aid.
Our relationship with God is unique. He wants us always tethered to Him. He desires to be constantly asked about who to marry, where to work, how to handle difficult relationships. He wants us to join His home gym, giving us strength to make it through trials and tribulations. He longs to have us sit around His dinner table sharing our day – our joys and our pains.
And when we wander too far away, we need to remember to retrace our steps. We need to follow our hearts back to Bethel.
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