READING: 2 Samuel 16-18, Luke 17:20-37
“Remember Lot’s wife.”
Luke 17:32
I was in Israel for the first time when I was a young believer, and our tour group had made our way to the region of the Dead Sea. When we passed some kind of pillar that unexpectedly stood upright from the earth, our tour guide said, “That’s Lot’s wife” – and most of the bus erupted in laughter. I probably would have, too, had I known the story of Lot’s wife well enough to understand the reference. That night, I, too, laughed when I read the story in Genesis 19 in more depth.
Many years later, I don’t laugh when I read Genesis 19 or Jesus’ reference to the story in Luke 17. In fact, the texts now call me to great reflection and caution.
Lot and his wife had escaped Sodom just before the judgment of God fell on that wicked city – and they escaped only because the Lord sent angels in His compassion to rescue them. Lot’s wife, though, looked back toward the city as judgment fell, and she, too, suffered judgment as she turned into a pillar of salt. The story surely sounds strange to our modern minds, but the lesson echoes throughout the Scriptures: anything less than an absolute turn from the world and a fully committed turn to Christ is insufficient for a follower of God. The heart of Lot’s wife apparently remained in Sodom – and it cost her.
When Jesus picked up the story in Luke 17, He did so in light of His discussion about His return. His coming will be sudden, unexpected, and bright, “just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, [and] shines to the other part of the sky” (Luke 17:24). When He comes, He expects to find us fully focused on Him, not leaning at all toward the things of the world. Particularly, no lures of the world should so attract us that we would dare look back at what we leave behind when the Lord comes. Holding on to the things of the past will only cost us in the future, for “whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33).
How do we prepare, then, for Christ’s return? Follow Christ, and don’t live for the things of this world. So, be fully aware of anything you would not want to give up if Jesus were to return today.
ACTION STEPS:
- Based on the last sentence, determine what fits into that category for you. Ask God to show you if you are too attached to something.
- Live today as if Jesus were going to return this day. He actually might.
PRAYER: “Jesus, I look forward to Your coming. Help me to live accordingly.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Samuel 19-20, Luke 18:1-23
