Jan 7, 2011

Is Your Life a Joke?

Sodom and Gomorrah - the angels visitation to Lot, the mob of angry horny men who wanted to rape the angels, Lot offering up his two daughters to the mob, sulphur and ice falling from heaven destroying everything, Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt.

What are we supposed to do with all that?

But here's the passage that I find most disheartening. The angels reveal to Lot God's plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels warn Lot to get out of the city. They also tell Lot to warn all his relatives and those who belong to him.

There should have been an entire clan of people who escaped destruction that day. But only Lot, his wife (who turns into a pillar of salt for looking back at the city when instructed not to), and two daughters make it out of the city.

What happened?

Lot went to warn his sons-in-law and when Lot told them about what God was about to do, "his sons-in-law thought he was joking."

No one took Lot seriously. This was a matter of life and death, and they just blew Lot off. Lot was a joke.

What a tragic sentence. How did it get that way?

Perhaps it's because they had seen their father-in-law make too many rash, crazy, irresponsible decisions like offering up his daughters to the raging, horny, murderous mob.

Whatever it was, one thing is clear: Lot's life discredited his life saving message.

Lot was a joke.

Church-attending, Jesus-professing, Bible-carrying Christians, we have the life saving message. His name is Jesus Christ.

Our lives, our life-styles, our reputations in our community should give credence to the life saving message of Jesus Christ.

Are our lives a joke?

For our sake, for the sake of those who don't know Jesus, I pray our lives gives faithful witness to the message we bear.

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