REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE!

Luke 17:29-33 AMPC

But on the [very] day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed [them] all. 

[30] That is the way it will be on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 

[31] On that day let him who is on the housetop, with his belongings in the house, not come down [and go inside] to carry them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not turn back. [32] Remember Lot's wife! 

[33] Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve and quicken it.


Lot's wife is a figure first mentioned in Genesis 19. The Book of Genesis describes how she became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom. The story of Lot's wife begins after two angels arrived in Sodom at eventide and were invited to spend the night at Lot's home. As dawn was breaking, Lot's visiting angels urged him to get his family and flee, so as to avoid being caught in the impending disaster for the iniquity of the city. The command was given in verse eighteen, "Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away."

While fleeing in verse twenty-six, Lot's wife looked behind her at Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt. We aren’t told why she looked back. Whether it was from irresistible curiosity, disturbance of feeling, or that she was about to return to save something, Lot's wife lingered, thus disobeying the parting counsel, “Do not look back, nor stay in all the plain.” The torrent of liquid lava enveloped her, making her the victim of her sinful rashness.

Out of more than 170 women named in the Bible, Jesus tells us to remember one: Lot’s wife. Do you know her story, short as it is, and the lesson in that story?

Besides John 11:33’s "Jesus wept," Jesus interrupts himself in the middle of a discourse on the end times to add the second shortest sentence in the Bible. With three powerful words, he cautions us: “Remember Lot’s wife.”

We don’t know her name, but we know her mistake is one we all make too easily: looking backward rather than forward. Sounds like a lot of us today. We would rather keep looking back, missing the things and people we left behind or the life we used to enjoy, than focusing on moving forward.

While Jesus was telling his disciples about a coming time of great destruction, he mentions what happened to Lot’s wife and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, cautioning us about the consequences of our actions. He said, “Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it,” just like Lot’s wife, who lost her life because she “looked back.” This was more than just a glance over the shoulder; it was a look of longing that indicated reluctance to leave or a desire to return. Whatever the case, the point is she was called to desert everything to save her life, but she could not let go, and she paid for it with her life. In Judaism, Lot’s wife became a symbol for a rebellious unbeliever.

There are people in relationships that are slowly but surely killing them, and despite the urging of friends and loved ones, some have remained, some left but keep going back. Why? The heart wants what the heart wants, unfortunately.

Life choices are important, at least good ones, yet so many have cultivated choices that are physically damaging, emotionally draining, financially crippling, and spiritually stunting without wanting and willing to let go and move forward.

To keep looking back is to fixate too much on the past, rambling over the same story repeatedly, while keeping the story, situation, or pain in an endless loop. We must unstick ourselves from the past, however pleasant it may have been, to move towards God’s plan for us. Following Jesus requires turning our backs on the “life” that this world offers. Attempting to “save your life” is the same as “looking back.” Attachment to our “old life” will cause us to lose our lives, and Lot’s wife is the illustration and example that we must remember.

Depression is fixating on past moments. Anxiety is fixating too much on the future. So, we are told to focus on the only time we can change: the present moment. Do so by constantly “remembering Lot’s wife” as Christ instructs us.

Prayer: Lord, help me to keep past actions and teachings at the forefront of my mind and learn from them, not allowing them to influence my present behavior and decisions or keep me in the past. In Jesus’ name, amen.

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/womenoflight/episodes/REMEMBER-LOTS-WIFE-e2rsbp0

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