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In the book of Genesis, we read the story of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. God commanded Abraham to take his family and move away from his home country to a new land. Abraham and his family and all their flocks made the migration to a land that was over-flowing with physical blessings. But Lot made one really bad decision. He chose to move close to the wicked city of Sodom. In fact, he ended up moving into that corrupt town (Genesis 13-14).
God, in his wisdom, chose to destroy Sodom and the surrounding cities (Genesis 13:1-13). However, two angels warned Lot to flee. But Lot’s sons-in-law refused to leave the area. Even his own wife turned back to the Sodom and died. And, while his daughters lived, their morality had been corrupted by living in that evil city and committed great sin against the Lord (Genesis 19).
Lot had much to regret in his life. However, God’s grace is more powerful than any sin or regret. Thus, we read in 2 Peter 2:7-8 that God rescued Lot from both the destruction of his city and the city, itself. Instead of focusing on the wrong decisions of his past, God focused on Lot’s heart.
Likewise, as repentant Christians, we need to put the past behind us and focus on our relationship and obedience to the Lord, today. He has forgiven our past sins and gives us a future to look forward to (Philippians 3:13-14; Isaiah 43:18-19; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18).
Larry Fitzgerald
Woodlawn church of Christ
Abilene, TX