Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. Genesis 20:1-2

Abraham had his weaknesses, pawning off his wife to a king to protect his own life. Abraham succumbed to Sarah’s pressure and had sex with her handmaiden Hagar, in order to take her son and call him his own.

Abraham is not perfect, but that should give comfort to the rest of us who fail all the time too. If Abraham struggled with his faith and he was used by God, that means even God can use me too.

Biblical characters are never portrayed as perfect and neither are we. The only one who ever reached perfection was Jesus Christ.

We look to Abraham’s life and learn from his failures and mistakes. We look to Jesus’ life and aspire to his perfection.