"Do not look back"

Does it ever intrigue you that God asks his people to do some pretty weird stuff sometimes? He told Joshua and his people to take a walk around Jericho in silence for a week, told Gideon to determine his army by how they drank water, and told Hosea to marry a prostitute.

It wasn't until Friday that I realized how strange and almost unreasonable God's command to Lot and his family are. If you don't remember the story, here's a refresher:

Genesis 19

12 The men said to Lot, ...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."

5 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."

24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

"Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley."

Growing up in church, I've never really give much thought to the command the angels gave to Lot and his family. How hard it could have been to run away from a burning, exploding city without looking back? After all, action heroes do it all the time. Upon further reflection, I realized how difficult it really must have been on Lot, and I more deeply understood the blessing of God's salvation.

Cool guys don't look at explosions.

My Last Day at Harris

Last Friday was my last day at Harris, and after the exit interview, I left the company to walk to the bus stop. I don't think I've ever literally walked away alone from something like that, and the feeling I got was pretty interesting. Despite not really being emotionally attached to the company, I couldn't help but feel kind of sad walking away from the place and the people I spent my last three months with that I would probably not see again. Also, unlike what it would be like if I was driving away, not only did I have much more time to think about it (because walking is slow, especially when you've gained as much weight as me), I had no rear-view mirror and couldn't see the place I was leaving without turning around completely to look.

I remember having sort of an internal battle about turning around to glance at Harris one more time. The awesome manly part of me told me that looking back was such an emotional and sissy mood, but my more nostalgic side was telling me to screw my manliness and to glance back. I did. It didn't really solve anything. I really don't even know why I did it, or even why I had the desire too. Just emotions, I guess.

It's not easy leaving somewhere that you've grown accustomed to, and it's even more difficult when you don't know what's ahead. I don't have a set career path yet, and this lack of sense of security in employment felt very real as I left Harris. Saying goodbye isn't easy, and having your life change drastically isn't easy either.

It must have been hard for Lot and his family to obey.

My insignificant struggle with leaving Harris reminded me of the story of Lot and his family. Why did God command them not to look back? What was the big deal? Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back. A pillar of salt! This was the first time that it struck me how hard not looking back must have been for the family. Not only do we know that Lot still had family in Sodom, they probably also had made friends with people from the city. And now God wanted them to walk away from the city where they've lived for a good amount of time without looking back. Isn't that a little bit unfair?

I know that what God really wanted from Lot and his family was for them to leave behind the sinfulness and immorality of Sodom. God wanted the family to display that they hated evil and that they had no connection to the evil of Sodom. But it still doesn't seem fair. Lot and his family had to leave behind family and friends to be killed by great balls of fire, and they couldn't even glance back to look at their destruction? Did God really expect them not to look back just to get a glance of what was probably an awesome fireworks show? I'm probably taking the text too literally, as they probably did look back from time to time, and God probably turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt because she was still connected to the sin and her heart was still in Sodom, but this command of God still isn't an easy one.

Sometimes when we read Scripture, especially the Old Testament, it's easy for us to self-righteously look down on the characters for their mistakes. We tell ourselves that we'd never make the same mistakes that they did and that we would obey God to do whatever he told us to do, whether it's refraining from eating some random fruit or commanding a rock to transform into a water faucet. If I was in Lot's situation (and I know I don't ever want to be), I don't know if I could run without looking back. I can't say with complete certainty I wouldn't desire to be with the friends and family that I left behind to perish. It's not easy leaving a place of security for a whole new life. Would I be like Lot and escape, or would I be like Lot's wife and look back and die?

I have already been rescued.

Colossians 3:1-4 - "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

All that speculation about me in Lot's shoes is merely hypothetical. Unlike Lot and his wife, I have a real relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. I know that ultimately, because of Jesus, my decision of whether to "look back" or not has already been made, not because of my obedience, but because of His. Christ has rescued me from the flames of hell, and my life "is now hidden with Christ in God". This unfortunately also means that I am inevitably leaving others behind, friends and family that I may care for and love. However, no longer is my heart bound to the things of the world. Though I still need to work out my salvation and strive to have my heart and my mind in heavenly things, growing in the likeness of Christ, I will never be like Lot's wife. Unlike Lot's wife, my treasure and heart are ultimately in and with Christ, not by my own power, but by the saving grace of God. Christ has given me a new life and a new path, and there's no turning back now...or ever.

I have decided to follow Jesus;

I have decided to follow Jesus;

I have decided to follow Jesus;

No turning back, no turning back.



My Summer - 2011
"I promise I'll read it!"
Summer 2011 - Lessons Learned