Don't Look Back

Probably most of us have committed John 14:35 to memory. I mean, we know that hiding scripture in our heart is of great value. So, why not start simply; “Jesus wept.” Well, this morning in my daily reading, I discovered another verse that can easily be committed to memory. Luke 17:32 simply reads, “Remember Lot’s wife.” This is not a call to memorialize someone, but a call to learn from another’s failures.

The story is recorded for us in Genesis 19. God had graciously told Lot that He was about to destroy Sodom. Lot was given the opportunity to take his family and escape from the coming destruction. However, there was one instruction that they were to follow. They were told, “Escape for our life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away” (v. 17). As they escaped, Lot’s wife did the very thing she was told not to do. We are told in verse 26, “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”

That seems like a pretty severe punishment for a simple glance. I mean, after all, the city behind her was being destroyed with fire that was raining down from heaven. Who wouldn’t have looked? The truth is, it was not the glance that got her in trouble. Her “look back,” was not to see what was happening. Her look back was a longing for what was. She had become accustom to, even enjoying, the sinful city that she lived in. Now that God has asked her to leave behind that sin, her affection for it was on full display.

So, when scripture says, “Remember Lot’s wife,” we know that it is not to memorialize her, but a strong warning not to look back at what God has called us away from. We are to look ahead to what God is doing. We are to press forward to our new life in Christ. We are to look forward to new adventures and new revelations of who God is in our lives. So, remember Lot’s wife. Don’t look back at what was, but look ahead to what God has for you.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell