Lot's Escape

Luke 17:33,  "Remember Lot's wife!  Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it."

    It's a good idea to stay close to people who are close to God.  Sometimes some of the benefits God bestows on them will overflow to us.  And those who are friends of God will pray for their friends, so even if people aren't praying for themselves, God will answer the prayers their friends have prayed on their behalf.  The angels went to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family in answer to Abraham's prayers.  Who has prayed for you and your family?  For whom are you praying?

    At dawn the angels urged Lot and his wife and daughters to hurry out of the city to escape its destruction.  But Lot hesitated, so the angels took the hands of Lot and his family and pulled them out of the city.  Apparently they were reluctant to leave their worldly possessions.  Does God ever have to urge or push or pull us in order for us to obey Him?

    Lot and his family were warned not to look back, but Lot's wife disobeyed those instructions, and she turned into a pillar of salt.  She became a monument to a divided heart and a warning to us all.  Do you think that you would have looked back?  Could you leave your house and possessions and friends and lifestyle and never look back if God called you to do that?  Or do we look back with longing when God calls us onward?  Where are our hearts?

    The lack of godly men in Sodom is a sad commentary on Lot's life.  When the angels arrived in Sodom, Lot was sitting at the gate of the city.  This was the place where business was transacted.  Lot's seat there indicates that he had a position of some power and influence, but we do not see any evidence that he used it to bring men to God.  I can't help but compare my own life to Lot's.  God has blessed me greatly, and it is a real temptation for me to just sit back and enjoy all that I have, as Lot apparently did.  He wasted his life and his influence as far as furthering God's kingdom.  But God wants, and expects, us to use all the resources He has placed at our disposal to tell others about salvation, about the way of escape that He has provided for all people.  He wants us to take every opportunity that is presented to us to share Christ with those who do not know Him.  Who told you about Jesus?  Who might you tell, or influence, to know Him?

Father, thank You that You have made a way for us to escape the penalty and power of sin through the cross.  May we take every opportunity to share that wonderful news with those around us.  Amen.