Luke 17:32 – Remember Lot’s wife.

As we continue to navigate many new ways of living, now in the 3^rd or 4^th week of dealing with the effects of COVID-19, I find myself noticing other changes that have taken place, things that were not so obvious early on. On Thursday of this week, our family drove up toward Bald Mountain to get outside and forage for mushrooms, and on the way we noticed the mall in Roanoke. It was closed. As were many stores. Also, it was very noticeable how few cars were on the roads. This in itself was very strange. While in the Chick-fil-a drive-through, we stared in at the dining chairs stacked on the tables. The dining room empty of people. It looked like a restaurant closed for the night, long after hours, but it was only 6pm, on a Thursday. Next door, a different scene, passing the Verizon store we were unable to see inside at all because the view is blocked by garage door type barriers pulled down inside the store windows. The store looked fortified and ready to fend off criminals. At 6pm on a Thursday. This is all very different.

It is a current reality that there are areas of our city where there are far less people than normal, areas that are normally crowded are now empty. There are stores and businesses closed, many appearing as if they have no plans to reopen, and there are some, looking as if they are boarded up, in need of protection once the sun goes down. For me, seeing all of this is a reminder of the darkness that lies beneath, a reminder that is more unsettling than just watching the news or hearing talk of the increasing spread of this pandemic. For me, it is as if reality is peeking through and the world is being exposed, and I am right now realizing on a new level, the fallenness and the brokenness of the earth, the cities and the societies upon it and how truly fragile and weak it all is.

It is upon this realization that I praise God for his mercy to us all. I consider it a most gracious gift that he would have us look around during this time and to see the weakness that exists in the things of man. I am thankful that we are reminded of the world’s fragility and that we are being forced to live differently for a moment, having the opportunity to clearly see how so many of the things of this world, things that we have grown accustomed to, the thousands of options on the thousands of shelves, the numerous sports across the television, the endless choices for food, dining, festivals, events and so much more, are not necessary. Yes, we may like these things, but remember Lot’s wife. There were things in Sodom that she liked as well, so much so that she turned back to gaze upon them as one would look back at a loved one as they depart for travel. The cost of looking back was her life. Not so much because of the act, but because of the heart from which the act originated. She loved and desired what she was leaving behind.

Remember Lot’s wife. Those are the words of Christ. It is a warning. Remember that she too professed to know the Lord, remember she too was blessed to be a member of a household of faith and she too was blessed to hear the commands of God, she was even visited by angels, but in the end, she looked back. And remember Christ. Remember that he gave up his place in heaven to take on flesh, came to earth and lived a sinless life and become the only worthy sacrifice for our sins. Remember your sins, even the worst sins you have ever committed and remember they are forgiven. All of them. And remember that it is all because of Christ.

Prayer: Gracious heavenly Father, have mercy on us and open our eyes to clearly see the beauty of Christ and bless us with a love and desire for him, a love and desire that would far exceed all that this world would offer, and may we always look to Christ and never turn back.