Truth or consequences

     I was in Genesis 12 this morning. I was reading about Abraham and Sarah (they were still Abram and Sarai at this point in their lives).  Abraham and Sarah were moving to Egypt for awhile to leave a famine in the land of Canaan, where God had called him to go.
     I've noticed so many fresh parts of this story on the gazzillionth time through it. God did not direct them to go to Egypt. This was Abraham's idea. So was the idea of passing Sarah off as Abraham's sister, which was essentially sending his own wife into Pharoah's harem.  [I've written about this in another blog. You can check it out in the older posts from last year. Sarah had beauty treatments from God's hormones--read it for a chuckle!]
     Abraham acted selfishly and out of outrageous expediency, apparently caring nothing about the fact that he was giving his wife to another man. In verse 13, he shows his  thought for his immediate ego--and not just safety: "Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."  
     Our God cared more for Sarah than her husband did: "But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. 'What have you done to me?' he said, 'Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, "She is my sister," so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!'  
     What an embarrassing time for God: when a superstar, Hall of Famer for the Lord had to be lectured by a man who did not even believe.  
    One of the "gifts" Abraham received from the Egyptians turned out to be Hagar. The centuries of unrest that resulted from that union is one consequence of Abraham's trying to take the easy and dishonest way out of his problem. Yes, Sarah was his half-sister, but she was more importantly his wife.
    People lie because they don't like what they think will happen when they tell the truth. Abraham was wrong about what did happen.  For all his faith, he was afraid to trust God to take care of him in Egypt.  He did trust God for some really big things in his life, but at other times, his fears took over, and he fell in the same old way all over again.  
     Sound familiar?  Praise the Lord! He's kind enough to show us that stained glass figures are human beings. This hero of faith is just as flawed are we are. When we fail again and again, we can come right back to our loving Lord and know he understands. We may need to confess to the people we've hurt along the way, but we are forgiven, whether we feel it or not. 
     Look in the New Testament, and you will see no mention of Abraham's failures. They are gone and forgotten by God, because when he forgives, he removes our guilt as far as the east is from the west. 
     Start thanking him for the love he shows you and start showing mercy to those other imperfect people around you.