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| Photo courtesy of ashtonwoods.com |
We see this in a very profound way in the incarnation of Christ, here at the time of the Advent season. Jesus, the God-man, stepping out of heaven and leaving behind all its glories, to be born of the virgin Mary in the manger, to save us from our sin.
But it is not just in the Christmas story that we see God taking such great means to reach out to us to redeem us, restore us, and rescue us.
We see it in the flood of Noah, as God tells Noah to build an ark that will save 8 people and pairs of every kind of animal from the deadly flood waters.
We see it as the Israelite spies rescue Rahab and her family from the sudden and devastating destruction of Jericho, as they see the scarlet cord out of her window.
But there's one Bible story I want to focus on today that profoundly shows us how God rescues His people from sin and its inevitable destruction, and that is the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
As we reflect on this passage of Scripture, I'd like for us to not only see how much God loves us, even in our sin and in the midst of a sinful world, but to also be keenly aware of what great lengths God goes to to save us from ourselves.
Let me just give you some quick background before we jump into our passage: Lot has just taken in two man-angels, and they are staying overnight in his home. He struggles to turn away a violent mob of men outside his door who want to rape these men (he even offers up his daughters to them, but fortunately they had no interest in these women!), and the mob becomes so angry that they want to harm Lot as well. Now let's dive in, as Lot is in the doorway, and see how these men respond to the situation.
Read with me, starting in Genesis 19:10...
"But the men [man-angels] reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
15 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.” 16 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. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”
Let's stop there. You might recall that Lot does indeed escape, but unfortunately his wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt.
Now, did you catch how Lot was saved? Was he merely advised--or strongly urged--to escape? Well, he was advised to do this, but only AFTER he was physically pulled into the house, safe from the angry mob (rescue #1). Even after he was told to gather up his family and leave, I find it interesting that the scripture notes that "he lingered" in verse 16. In fact, we see the man-angels literally seize him (and his wife and daughters) and bring him out of his house so they can flee (rescue #2).
THAT is what our God does.
He does not just offer a plan of salvation--to repent and believe and be saved--for those who are sensible enough to follow it.
No! He seizes us (in the most gentle way, of course) and pulls us out of a burning city, even as we linger.
Let me put it another way: He does not throw us a life raft to swim up to as we are floundering in the deep end. He jumps in Himself and pulls us out of the pool, and then He resuscitates us with His own Holy Breath (did you know "spirit" is also translated "breath," in the scriptures?).
You see, I did not understand this, even growing up in church, and even as a Christian for many, many years.
I had to come to realize that I did not choose to "accept" Christ and become saved.
No! I have been rescued.
God has reached out, placed me in His all-powerful grip, and lifted me out of sin, a place I could not leave, even if I wanted to (which I wouldn't, as a sinner). Paul tells us in Romans 3:11 that we are all like this:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
Do you see it, dear one? Do you see the amazing grace of our Lord God, that He would step out of Heaven and enter into humanity, that He would reach out to us, and pull us out of a burning fire, not based on what we have done or thought or chosen, but based upon His perfect character, full of sovereign mercy? Do you see what this tell us about God...and what it tells us about ourselves? That even with an angry mob outside of our door and with certain destruction looming...we would still linger? Praise God that He saves us from ourselves!
Let us praise Him in a fresh way this Advent season, as we see God dive into humanity, having a body all His own, knowing every limitation that goes with that, feeling our burdens and sadness and rejection, and reflect upon how far God goes to save us! If we do, dear friend, our Advent, and our lives, will never be the same.
**as always, click on the bold words to blog links to learn more**
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