All Men--Gen. 26

"And he (Isaac) removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they (the Philistines) strove not; and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land" (Gen. 26:22).

Like father like son, the saying goes. Just like Abraham before him, Isaac repaired to the land of the Philistines, avoiding Egypt at God's express command.

And, true to Abraham's mistake, Isaac told everyone that Rebekah, his chosen bride, is his sister.

And again, Abimelech forgives. Opens his lands to Isaac and his whole house.

Out goes Isaac, with the approval of the king. He begins to look for water for his immense herds.

He finds water. His men dig a well. And immediately, the Philistines come and chase him off. Claim the well as their own.

Isaac had every reason to be indignant. "I beg your pardon?" Stand up for his rights.

But he merely backed off, meekly saying nothing, and moved to a different location and dug again.

Another well. More water.

And the same thing happened. Here come the Philistines, claiming the land, the water, the well, as their own. They argued and pressed and pushed...and again, Isaac just backed away.

Three times a well is dug. Three times Isaac moves. And finally, no one tries to take his well. And he gives it a name, saying that the Lord had made room for them in the land and that things would be well.

As humans, we live in a world, a society, where "rights" are mandatory: keeping "our rights" open-ended is worth everything--even the blood of another.

Isaac, like Another some thousand years later, "opened not his mouth." Backed away, allowed what happened to happen without coming unglued. Trusted God to take care of his family, his situation, without fighting for his rights.

Paul had a similar idea of how to live, it seems.

"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Rom. 12:18).

As much as lies in you.

Peaceably.

All men.

A tall order?

Maybe.

But this is life we're talking about. This is living love. Love living.

This is Christianity. This is salvation.

This is Christ.

ALL men.

Father in Heaven, teach me how to live peaceably with all men...no matter what...