As soon as they had been brought outside, [Lot] was told: "Flee for your life! Don't look back or stop anywhere on the Plain. Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away." . . . . But Lot's wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:17-26).
Why did Lot’s wife turn back?
We can only speculate.
Perhaps she didn’t want to leave her parents and family. Maybe she wished to remain with her friends. Or she longed to keep the familiar and avoid the new.
Whatever the reason, her fate became a teaching point in St. Luke’s gospel. While talking about His second advent, Jesus cautioned His disciples against double-mindedness, of wanting a relationship with God while at the same time being unwilling to give up the familiar . . . even family and friends if necessary.
“Remember Lot’s wife” Jesus said (St. Luke 17:32).
Those words should strike like a hammer.
Remember Lot’s wife.
What prevents us from fully obeying Jesus? Why do we so easily hesitate when He calls us to a deeper devotion to Him? Why do we so tenaciously cling to the old in favor of the new?
Perhaps for the same reasons Lot’s wife turned back.
Perhaps for a few more.
Or perhaps we simply do not recognize the danger.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It's amazing how often I feel like Lot's wife - always looking back over my shoulder. I think one of the biggest reasons I look back is because part of me thinks that I must be doing something wrong, if everyone isn't coming with me/doing what I'm doing.
And though I get that safety in numbers is just an illusion, somehow I still find myself looking back too often. Luckily I get the chance to turn my head back around, unlike Lot's wife!
If we didn't get the chance to turn our head back, we'd all end up like her ;)
Post a Comment