Sinners & Saints in Genesis 12: When Abram Trafficked Sarai

🤔 Ever notice how sometimes the “heroes” in Bible stories aren’t exactly perfect? Let’s talk about Abraham in Genesis 12 – it’s not your typical Sunday school lesson! 📖

✨ Abraham starts off strong — he hears God’s amazing promises (land, kids, becoming a great nation) and responds with faith, even at 75! But then things get messy… 😬

🌵 When a famine hits, he and Sarah head to Egypt, but Abraham was so scared for his own life that he told his wife Sarah to pretend she was his sister.

👑 Why? Because he knew Pharaoh would want her (she was beautiful) and might kill him to have her. Instead of protecting his wife, he basically trafficked her to save himself.

💰 Even worse? He accepted gifts from Pharaoh in exchange for her.

✅ But here’s why this story matters for us today:

▶ 🎭 Even the “heroes” of faith were sinners
▶ 😱 Fear can make us do terrible things to people we love
▶ 💔 Sin creates real trauma (imagine how Sarah felt!)
▶ ✝️ God still shows up, even in our worst moments
▶ 🌟 Your past mistakes don’t define your identity, the gospel does. You are holy, forgiven, and pure.

🤯 The wild part? God didn’t give up on either of them. He stepped in, protected Sarah, and kept His promises to them both — even though Abraham majorly messed up.

❤️‍🩹 If you’ve hurt others? Own it and repent, but know that there is forgiveness and healing on the other end.

✨ That’s the whole point: God’s love isn’t based on your perfect record. Our salvation and identity in Christ depends on His faithfulness, not ours. Whether you’re the one who messed up or the one who got hurt, God promises forgiveness, life, and salvation.

✝️ This happens through the death of His Son.

Contributor Michelle Bauman is the Director of Y4Life.

Contributor Rev. Harrison Goodman is the Higher Things Content Executive.

#higherthings #lcms #lutheran #genesis12

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