As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. Gen 19:15-16
Here the Lord offers salvation to Lot who, by what we have previously seen, truly believes in the coming destruction and truly hates the sin in Sodom. But what does he do? “He lingers…” And finally, and only because God is merciful and that probably because of Abraham (Gen 19:29), the angels grabbed them all by the hands and pulled them out of the city.
How many times do we linger where we have no business being, even after we know we should be gone? Sin has a pull of its own, and if God were not pulling in the opposite direction, many of us would be gone without a fight.
But we have talked much about sin in this short series. How about things that are not necessarily sins? How about those resolutions we make, not just at the New Year’s dawn, but when suddenly we realize we are not what we should be? When a lesson suddenly slaps us in the face and we recognize our failures. How many times have I heard things like, “I am going to start studying more. In fact, I am going to come to your classes.” But when reality hits, when they find out it takes work and commitment and maybe canceling a few other things that are a lot more fun, suddenly it is not a priority.
Most of the members of my classes are older women. Don’t tell me, “Well, they have the time.” When we started this class almost thirty years ago, they were the young women with families, and some had jobs too. Yet they also had their priorities in order. It is as simple, and as damning, as that.
So you need to make a change of some kind, be it more study, more prayer, more service, or some other neglected virtue. Then make it, but recognize from the get-go that you will have to leave some things behind in order to make the time. Don’t “linger” in Sodom. It will only make the transition more difficult. Jump in with both feet, whatever the change you want to make, and don’t look back. Before long you will love the new you.
When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Ps 119:59-60
Dene Ward
Here the Lord offers salvation to Lot who, by what we have previously seen, truly believes in the coming destruction and truly hates the sin in Sodom. But what does he do? “He lingers…” And finally, and only because God is merciful and that probably because of Abraham (Gen 19:29), the angels grabbed them all by the hands and pulled them out of the city.
How many times do we linger where we have no business being, even after we know we should be gone? Sin has a pull of its own, and if God were not pulling in the opposite direction, many of us would be gone without a fight.
But we have talked much about sin in this short series. How about things that are not necessarily sins? How about those resolutions we make, not just at the New Year’s dawn, but when suddenly we realize we are not what we should be? When a lesson suddenly slaps us in the face and we recognize our failures. How many times have I heard things like, “I am going to start studying more. In fact, I am going to come to your classes.” But when reality hits, when they find out it takes work and commitment and maybe canceling a few other things that are a lot more fun, suddenly it is not a priority.
Most of the members of my classes are older women. Don’t tell me, “Well, they have the time.” When we started this class almost thirty years ago, they were the young women with families, and some had jobs too. Yet they also had their priorities in order. It is as simple, and as damning, as that.
So you need to make a change of some kind, be it more study, more prayer, more service, or some other neglected virtue. Then make it, but recognize from the get-go that you will have to leave some things behind in order to make the time. Don’t “linger” in Sodom. It will only make the transition more difficult. Jump in with both feet, whatever the change you want to make, and don’t look back. Before long you will love the new you.
When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Ps 119:59-60
Dene Ward
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