January 4

Genesis 19:26 “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

     The story of Lot’s wife is an interesting story of human behavior. It demonstrates the seen and the unseen. Abraham left Ur to find a city that he never saw, whose builder and maker was God. Lot’s wife saw the city that she wanted to be a part of and when faced with the reality of leaving that city for a place she did not know, she looked back.

     We face a similar situation almost daily. God is calling us to walk toward a city that we have not seen, and yet, we know is real. The New Jerusalem is a promise to those that follow after Christ. So, do we keep our eye on this world, or do we close our eyes to that which is around us, and look for a city whose builder and maker is God?

     I remember the time in my life when I was required by God to leave something for the unknown. I grew up playing hockey. I loved the sport, and still do. When I was in ninth grade, I had to make the decision to play for the high school team or continue Bible Quizzing. Really it wasn’t a decision between those two, though I thought it was. It really was between where God wanted me and where I wanted myself.

    I knew that God had called me to the ministry at the age of eleven. It was now at age 14 that I needed to make my decision. I read the passage of Lot’s wife. That was enough for me. I left hockey, never to play it again. In fact, I have rarely skated over the last 30 years because where God has taken me did not have much ice. I made a conscience decision to never look back, and by the grace of God, I never have. You see, Lot’s wife tried to hold onto two worlds, and lost them both. That was not going to be my story.

Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is a temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship.

James Russell Lowell