Grab on and Don't Let Go

In Genesis 18 God in human form, Jesus, appeared to Abraham, telling him the good news that Sarah would be pregnant in a year. The conversation then takes a turn toward Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.” Genesis 18: 20-21 (CSV)

I love the beauty that God, Jesus, is having this situation looked into before doing anything. The two angles that came with Jesus walked to Sodom to look into the situation. Jesus remained with Abraham and their conversation continued.

Abraham stepped forward and said “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the judge of the whole world do what is just?” Genesis 18:22-25 (CSV)

Surely they’re not all bad. There has to be some good people. What if they’re just confused, but are good deep down? What if they’re just being influenced or have been hurt? Won’t you spare them?

The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake… I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there…I will not do it on account of forty… I will not do it if I find thirty there… I will not destroy it on account of twenty… I will not destroy it on account of ten.” Genesis 18:26-32 (CSV condensed)

The story then goes with the angles in Sodom giving us a picture in a short period of the hearts of the people who lived there. While there God extends an invitation to Lot and his family, an invitation to avoid the destruction of Sodom.

At daybreak, the angles urged Lot on: “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in punishment of the city.” But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city. Genesis 19:15-16 (CSV)

Looking back through Genesis 19 God did not spare Sodom for the sake of 10. Even so, He invited 6 people to leave before destroying it. We see 2 of those people refuse to believe what God’s saying. They were positioned with the town as it displayed its evil. 1 out of the 4 remaining looked longingly back at Sodom as they escaped. She physically wasn’t in Sodom, but her heart still was. We then see 2 out of the 3 left immediately take family matters into their own hands instead of trusting God. Doing the math leaves 1 person left. This one person is Lot who as we just read hesitated about even leaving Sodom. Are any of them righteous?

Regardless of the answer, this is a beautiful picture of God extending His love to others through Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter how anyone is positioned to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil whether you're straight up sitting in it, walking away but wishing and longing for when you can go back, or away from it but looking at it resulting in making decisions based on your knowledge. No matter where you or anyone else stands, God has extended an invitation to the Tree of Life. The choice is ultimately up to us. Will you accept the invitation? Will you take the steps needed to act on the invitation? As we see with Lot God will help you leave, He doesn’t leave you hanging. So grab on, don’t look back, and trust God even when it seems impossible.

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