 |
| Gustave Doré (1832-1883), La fuga di Lot da Sodoma. I |
“A
Pillar of Salt” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)
The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar;
at the same time, the LORD rained down sulfurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah from
the LORD out of heaven. He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together
with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil. But Lot's wife
looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. (Genesis
19:23-26)
O Lord, your mercy is
before my eyes. (Psalm 26:3a)
They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We
are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. (Matthew 8:25-26)
Piety
Lord, help me to focus on Your
goodness… not the place I loved.
Study
They were
less than righteous people, the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were
immoral, self-absorbed, violent, threatening to violate total strangers just to
debase them. God wasn’t inclined to believe any of them were worthy of
salvation, though He relented a bit thanks to Abraham’s impassioned bargaining.
Finally, the visiting angels helped Lot, his wife, and their two daughters out
of town. They were on the way to safety—but Lot’s wife had to look back. You
know what happened next.
It is so easy
to sit in judgment of the woman. Surely, she had to have heard the screams,
felt the wind, smelled the burning flesh. What made her turn around? Morbid
curiosity?
I’d like to
think not. I’d like to think that there had been good times in Sodom too, women
with whom she chatted as their children played together, friends with whom she
shared joy and pain, laughter and tears. It’s hard to leave even the worst of
situations when you’re not sure where you’re going.
I think the
people and places I loved at one point or another but simply weren’t part of
the Lord’s plan for me, regardless of how much I treasured them. They may have
been less than righteous… but all too often, I am as well. I still think about
them from time to time, but as fond memories, not as a life I burn to return
to. I’m beyond grateful for the times that when I did look back, the Lord managed to turn my face toward Him. And I
pray He’s done so for those I left behind.
Action
Pray for the salvation of those you’ve left behind.
No comments:
Post a Comment