An Instructive Moment about our Lives (Luke 17:32-33)

You know, God is a God of Love, but I think most people forget that He is a Just God also. He will follow through with what He says He will do. There are many people today who refuse to believe that God brought justice to the time of Noah with the flood and people forget that Sodom was destroyed in judgement.

By bringing up these two aspects Jesus was stressing the judgmental aspect of the kingdom. When He will establish His kingdom, people will be judged to see if they will be allowed to enter it. This is not talking about the rapture but about the judgment before entering the kingdom.

Prior to this section of passage, Jesus reminded His disciples that the people in Noah's day were not prepared for the Flood, and therefore they were completely destroyed. Just because they had never heard about rain, or didn't understand what rain would do, God did provide them a way of escape, just like He has for us today. But they chose not to take the way that was offered. This same problem will exist when the kingdom comes...people will not be ready.

In the same way the materialistic, indifferent people of Sodom were not prepared for God's judgement. They were living in sin, oblivious to God. Therefore, they were destroyed. Jesus reminded His followers that people should not be attached to their material things at the time of the coming of the kingdom for they, like Lot's wife, will be judged accordingly.

The difference between Lot's wife and Mary, the mother of the Lord, is phenominal. There were several occasions where Joeseph was told by God in a dream to get up, during the night, and flee for safety. Mary was obedient. She didn't hesitate to leave, at a moments notice, in the middle of the night. On the other hand, I see Lot and his wife lingering and halting, being dragged to safety. Now the one commendable thing about Lot is he did not look back like his wife did. Why do some of God's people fall in with the corrupt world rather than willingly flee a society destined for destruction?

As she looked back intently, she was turned to a pillar of salt. As we grow spiritually, we should find ourselves developing a deeper respect for God because of His attitude toward sin, and also a deeper love for God because of His patience with us when we sin. Lot's wife was clinging to the past, she was unwilling to turn completely away. We cannot make progress with God when we are holding on to a part of our old life. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 6:24: "No one can serve two masters."

"Stories of people like Lot's wife make the theoretical practical. They put flesh and blood on bare-bones principles. They incarnate the Word so that it may dwell among us. To be seen and heard. To be touched and understood. In the winding and sometimes precarious road we travel on our spiritual journey, other people's lives serve as signposts, showing us the way or the way to avoid." Gire, pg. 262

There will be many people who are surprised when the kingdom arrives. As Christ Himself said in Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."