"But his wife looked back from behind
him, and she became a pillar of salt."
I've heard it said many times by various pastors. The Christian life is about always moving forward. Paul talked about it in his epistle to the Corinthians chapter 9 and Philippians chapter 3. He compares it to running a race in 1 Corinthians and pressing toward in Philippians. In each case it is moving forward to an expected end. So what does that have to do with the verse this week? A lot. You see, God rescued Lot and his family out of Sodom before He executed judgement on that wicked city. Just like He did for us who are born again bible believing Christians. What this verse has to do with what Paul talks about is this. Lot's wife, it says, looked back. So what you might say. Maybe she just wanted to see what was happening. Not so. If you study like you should when reading your bible, the word used there is nabat. It means to look after with longing. She disobeyed a direct command from the Lord in Verse 17. He told them to not look back. The same word used with the same implication. Lot's wife was so steeped in that world she was in, that she could not even hear a direct command from the Lord. Why did God turn her into a pillar of salt? I really don't know. God does and it serves as the example for us in our life. Will God turn us into a pillar of salt? Probably not, but it is a great picture of her life coming to an end spiritually. That's the same thing that can happen to us. Now to be honest, do we look back at our life and long after certain things? I know I do at times and I have to catch myself and say, " what am I doing!". The bible is clear, when we get saved and plugged into Christ, we come alive spiritually and are set apart. That's what the word Holy means. Set apart. Are we to be like the world? No, we are to be in the world but not of it. That's the whole point of what I was comparing at the beginning of this devotion. We are to move forward as Paul says. When we are not moving forward we are stationary for a time I believe but inevitably we begin to move back. Living a life in Christ, I have found it is an ever learning experience. When we learn we can move forward with understanding. It's like this. I am an automotive technician. If I stayed just changing oil like when I started out, I would never know any more or be able to do other things besides change oil. I would be stuck in that position forever. In fact, I would be moving backwards every year that past not learning new things to help me repair cars. It would be harder and harder for me to move forward because the goal would be farther away due to wasted time. It's like that in every aspect of life. In a relationship between a man and a woman, if each one or the other lives in the past always bringing up the wrongs of the other, they never move forward. If a business never learns from it's mistakes, makes changes and moves forward, it will eventually crumble. So my question to you is this, Christian. Are you, me, looking back and longing for the things we were rescued from or are we moving forward? Deep question, only God and the individual knows. Be encouraged this week to keep running the race and not looking back. Yes, it can be hard, but we have Jesus Christ leading and guiding us. Be blessed.
Bob.
him, and she became a pillar of salt."
I've heard it said many times by various pastors. The Christian life is about always moving forward. Paul talked about it in his epistle to the Corinthians chapter 9 and Philippians chapter 3. He compares it to running a race in 1 Corinthians and pressing toward in Philippians. In each case it is moving forward to an expected end. So what does that have to do with the verse this week? A lot. You see, God rescued Lot and his family out of Sodom before He executed judgement on that wicked city. Just like He did for us who are born again bible believing Christians. What this verse has to do with what Paul talks about is this. Lot's wife, it says, looked back. So what you might say. Maybe she just wanted to see what was happening. Not so. If you study like you should when reading your bible, the word used there is nabat. It means to look after with longing. She disobeyed a direct command from the Lord in Verse 17. He told them to not look back. The same word used with the same implication. Lot's wife was so steeped in that world she was in, that she could not even hear a direct command from the Lord. Why did God turn her into a pillar of salt? I really don't know. God does and it serves as the example for us in our life. Will God turn us into a pillar of salt? Probably not, but it is a great picture of her life coming to an end spiritually. That's the same thing that can happen to us. Now to be honest, do we look back at our life and long after certain things? I know I do at times and I have to catch myself and say, " what am I doing!". The bible is clear, when we get saved and plugged into Christ, we come alive spiritually and are set apart. That's what the word Holy means. Set apart. Are we to be like the world? No, we are to be in the world but not of it. That's the whole point of what I was comparing at the beginning of this devotion. We are to move forward as Paul says. When we are not moving forward we are stationary for a time I believe but inevitably we begin to move back. Living a life in Christ, I have found it is an ever learning experience. When we learn we can move forward with understanding. It's like this. I am an automotive technician. If I stayed just changing oil like when I started out, I would never know any more or be able to do other things besides change oil. I would be stuck in that position forever. In fact, I would be moving backwards every year that past not learning new things to help me repair cars. It would be harder and harder for me to move forward because the goal would be farther away due to wasted time. It's like that in every aspect of life. In a relationship between a man and a woman, if each one or the other lives in the past always bringing up the wrongs of the other, they never move forward. If a business never learns from it's mistakes, makes changes and moves forward, it will eventually crumble. So my question to you is this, Christian. Are you, me, looking back and longing for the things we were rescued from or are we moving forward? Deep question, only God and the individual knows. Be encouraged this week to keep running the race and not looking back. Yes, it can be hard, but we have Jesus Christ leading and guiding us. Be blessed.
Bob.
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