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Message from the Monthly Flyer February 2016

And she looked back

Genesis 19:15-17; 26 -KJV- And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. (…) But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis chapter 19 records the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. These cities and the cities around where so evil in the sight of God that He decided to destroy them. Abraham had pleaded with God to spare those cities if at least 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 or 10 righteous people could be found there (Genesis 18:17-33). Unfortunately they were all corrupt and only one person was found to be righteous. So God decided to save Lot and his family because of His mercy and destroy all the rest, because they were irremediably evil. God sent two angels to get Lot, his wife and his daughters out before He would destroy those cities by fire, but the men of the city, both great and small, wanted to abuse the angels sexually. Nobody took Lot serious when he warned them about the imminent destruction of the city. The term sodomy comes from the name of the city of Sodom and describes the perversity of that sin. The angels urged Lot to flee with his family and gave him a very specific command: do not look back. But Lot’s wife looked behind her and became a pillar of salt.

What could be the reason why Lot’s wife looked back? Her friends and relatives had stayed back and were going to be destroyed; she would never see them again. It was a place full of memories that she dearly kept in her heart. She had a love story there with her husband and their daughters had been born there. Their daughters were just about to get married when all this happened. Even though the level of corruption was so high in that place, they had managed to build a comfortable home and they had learned to cope with the sinful reality of those days. A lot of memories were still very much alive in her mind. Without warning they had to run away like thieves and had to give up so much hope, plans for the future but also all their belongings for which they had worked so hard all their life. It was just too much at once and Lot’s wife was not ready at all for such a drastic and sudden move.

Despite the great level of perversion and depravity that were displayed day by day in Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife was content and had learned to manage the situation. She was not grieved by the sins of those cities and her soul and heart were still attached to that place. She was not convinced that running away was the right thing to do. She did not realize how much her own spirit was already negatively affected by the sins of those cities and that the only way for her and her family to be saved was to be definitively and radically detached from that place. They had managed to build for themselves a nest of comfort, security and contentment. Leaving meant starting back to point zero in an unknown place and facing new challenges, problems, difficulties; the future just looked so uncertain. She was concerned about the losses and she was worried about the future. Her attitude is understandable in a human point of view because nobody really likes drastic, unpredictable changes. As human beings, we all want to know that we are secure and people work hard to have a comfortable and carefree life. So any unexpected, especially negative change is not welcome in our lives.

Even though we have this natural longing for security and comfort, God knows where we can find true comfort and security: in His Word and in His presence. The angel’s instruction not to look back was not given to Lot and his family just to make it hard on them. God’s message through that instruction was actually this: “You are not loosing anything by leaving this place because I am your reward and your provider. I am able to give you everything you need and so much more. Don’t look back because there is nothing to regret about your old way of living. I know where I am taking you to. I have a better plan for your life and if you obey Me, I will take you to heights that you cannot even imagine. I am taking you in another level where you can fellowship with me. Don’t look back because greater things are in store for you if you just trust and obey. You don’t have to be afraid because I am holding you with My hand. I love you with an everlasting love and I will never forsake you. You are the apple of my eye and whoever touches you touches me. You are perfectly secure in Me because I know the end from the beginning. Just trust and obey.”

God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We once were living in the bondage of sin and we were children of disobedience. But now we have been washed by the blood of the Lamb and we are now citizens of the heavenly kingdom. We are not fools that we should return to our vomit (Proberbs 26:11). We must hate sin and depart from evil. As children of light, we forget all those things that are behind us and we run the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and the finisher of our faith because we want to be like Him and we want to be with Him forever. The Bible says in Luke 9:62 “(…) No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” We cannot look back and long for the sinful life style we used to have if our minds have truly been renewed in Christ and if we know in whom we have believed. By looking back we are telling God that He is not good enough. But what can this world give us to help us secure our salvation? Nothing. What does it profit a man if he can enjoy the pleasure of sin and all the things that the world has to offer if he loses his soul for all eternity? (Luke 9:25). Our future is in Christ and when we obey His Word, we gain eternal life.

The Lord Jesus is coming back soon to take His Bride, the Church. He is calling us to forsake any sinful and worldly way of living. We must be ready for the rapture at any time because it will happen in a twinkling of an eye. Nobody knows the time and the hour when the Son of Man will return. That’s why we must watch and pray, making sure that our lamps do not go out (Luke 17:26-30. See also the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13). When the trumpet sounds, we will not take anything with us because we did not bring anything into this world. The only treasure that we will take with us is Jesus living in our hearts, minds and spirits. When He comes back, our hearts and minds must be set on Jesus and not on the distractions and ephemeral pleasures of this life. There will be no time to linger and only those who are ready will be raptured. As long as we are still on earth, we must use everything we have and all our abilities and talents to serve God. Our investment in God’s kingdom can never be in vain when we are faithful and have the right motives. We are just pilgrims on this earth and our home is in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ. So let’s move forward without looking back, for our reward will be great in heaven. mt

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