God gives us a solid foundation for our lives.

上帝是我们生命的坚实根基。

From there he went on towards the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Genesis 12:8

从那里他又迁到伯特利东边的山，支搭帐棚。-创世记12章8节

Growing up in Minnesota, a place known for its many beautiful lakes, I loved to go camping to enjoy the wonders of God’s creation. But sleeping in a flimsy tent wasn’t my favorite part of the experience—especially when a rainy night and a leaky tent resulted in a soggy sleeping bag.

明尼苏达州以拥有许多美丽湖泊而闻名，我在此成长，所以也特别热爱在野外露营，享受上帝创造的美好。然而睡在一个摇摇欲坠的帐棚中，却并非我所好，特别是有时“屋”漏偏逢连夜雨，把睡袋弄得湿答答的。

I marvel to think that one of the heroes of our faith spent a hundred years in tents. When he was seventy-five years old, Abraham heard God’s call to leave his country so the Lord could make him into a new nation (Gen. 12:1–2). Abraham obeyed, trusting that God would follow through on His promise. And for the rest of his life, until he died at 175 (25:7), he lived away from his home country in tents.

因此，当我想到有位信心伟人曾以帐棚为家，时间甚至长达一百年时，让我不得不佩服。亚伯拉罕在75岁那年，听见上帝呼召他离开故乡，好使他成为大国（创世记12章1-2节）。亚伯拉罕就顺服，相信上帝必持守祂的应许。因此在他人生接下来的岁月里，直到175岁过世为止（25章7节），他都离乡背井住在帐棚里。

We may not have the same call as Abraham did to live nomadically, but even as we love and serve this world and the people in it, we may long for a deeper experience of home, of being rooted here on earth. Like Abraham, when the wind whips our flimsy covering or the rain soaks through, we can look with faith for the city to come, whose “architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). And like Abraham, we can find hope that God is working to renew His creation, preparing a “better country—a heavenly one” to come (v. 16).

或许我们并不像亚伯拉罕那样，蒙召过逐水草而居的游牧生活。但即使我们爱世上的人，也愿意服事他们，但我们仍渴望有一个温暖的家，能带给我们安全感。然而，当人生的疾风抽打我们单薄的帐棚、雨水不断浸透时，我们可以像亚伯拉罕一样，满怀信心等候那座将临的城，“就是上帝所经营、所建造的”（希伯来书11章10节） 。就如亚伯拉罕，我们也心存盼望，知道上帝正在动工，要更新祂所创造的万物，并为我们预备“一个更美的家乡，就是在天上的”（16节） 。

Lord God, You are our shelter and our foundation. 

May we trust You in the big things and small.

天父上帝，祢是我们的避难所，也是我们的根基。
愿我们在一切大小事上皆信靠祢。

Genesis 12:4-9New International Version (NIV)

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 TheLord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[a] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

创世记 12:4-9Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

4 亚伯兰就照着耶和华的吩咐去了，罗得也和他同去。亚伯兰出哈兰的时候年七十五岁。 5 亚伯兰将他妻子撒莱和侄儿罗得，连他们在哈兰所积蓄的财物、所得的人口，都带往迦南地去。他们就到了迦南地。 6 亚伯兰经过那地，到了示剑地方，摩利橡树那里。那时，迦南人住在那地。 7 耶和华向亚伯兰显现，说：“我要把这地赐给你的后裔。”亚伯兰就在那里为向他显现的耶和华筑了一座坛。 8 从那里他又迁到伯特利东边的山，支搭帐篷。西边是伯特利，东边是艾。他在那里又为耶和华筑了一座坛，求告耶和华的名。 9 后来亚伯兰又渐渐迁往南地去。

整理：于姊妹