Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’” (Genesis 20:11, NIV)
A number of years ago, we asked several friends of Links Players who had been at their club for many years and knew the membership well to consider their club rosters with this question in mind: Who knows Jesus?
Granted, country clubs and golf courses are not normally considered bastions of righteousness, but the answers we received still may surprise you. In all but one case, the result was that fewer than five percent of the membership expressed or demonstrated a commitment to Christ. The other case, which represented a retirement community, came in at about 10 percent.
If you want to reach people who need the Good News of Jesus, a country club is a pretty good place to start.
That said, I am intrigued by the story of Abraham and Abimelech, as I think you might be.
Abraham entered the region of the Negev, where he encountered the people under Abimelech’s local kingship. Fearing that he would be killed and his wife Sarah seized, Abraham announced that she was his sister. In short order, the beautiful Sarah was brought to Abimelech’s house.
God-fearing men and women arise throughout Scripture; they will arise around us, often when we are most desperate.But God warned Abimelech in a dream that this woman was married. If he or any of his men compromised Sarah, they would pay a lethal price.
Had Abimelech been beholden to any of the idols around him, he likely would have chosen to ignore the dream. But Abimelech feared God, and he heeded the dream. And when the king confronted Abraham about his deceptive tactics, Abraham expressed honest surprise.
“I had no idea that righteousness existed here,” Abraham told him, in essence. “This was a plan meant to protect me and my family.”
The lesson here fascinates me. Often, Scripture refers to the remnant God keeps unto himself—that is, there is always a group of people whose hearts remain with him, even when all around them go with a godless flow. Here was Abimelech in an otherwise lawless land, listening to God and acting more righteously even than the chosen patriarch of God’s people.
Sometimes you and I will feel alone in the faith, as though the world around us is entirely godless. It isn’t. God-fearing men and women arise throughout Scripture; they will arise around us, often when we are most desperate. Pray for them. Look for them. Delight in finding them. They are among God’s kindest blessings to us.
—
Jeff Hopper
Originally published January 17, 2011
Copyright 2011 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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