<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot\u2019s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt\u201d (Genesis 19:24-26).<\/p>\n
THE ADMONITION TO FLEE IS SOMETIMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN WE REALIZE. If we were in a difficult situation, the advice to \u201cget out of there\u201d might not sound very savvy or sophisticated. But we should not underestimate the wisdom of simply . . . fleeing.<\/em><\/p>\n As we\u2019ve seen in previous readings, repentance is a crucial part of the gospel. It is not reasonable, even at the level of common sense, to expect God\u2019s forgiveness if we\u2019re not willing to give up the sins we want God to forgive us of. But repentance is hard, especially when sinful habits are deeply ingrained in our way of life. From a practical standpoint, there is not much chance of getting away from the clutches of sin if we don\u2019t flee from it \u2014 decisively rejecting it and pointing ourselves in a new direction. Even more important, our discipleship and consecration to the Lord require us to flee. The Lord\u2019s invitation to \u201cforsake all and follow Me\u201d is diametrically opposed to \u201cstay where you are.\u201d It\u2019s time we realized that discipleship is an adventure, not a \u201cstaycation.\u201d<\/p>\n Flee.<\/em> When we leave \u201cSodom,\u201d we ought not to leave there in a leisurely way; disaster is on our heels, and we must make haste. And we should keep this in mind: we aren\u2019t just fleeing punishment or judgment; we are fleeing sin itself. In our daily lives, that means we should avoid temptation as much as possible, cutting ourselves off from any influence that might drag us back into sin.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t look back.<\/em> For repentance to be genuine, sin must be rejected decisively \u2014 a firm \u201cno\u201d must be said to the very thought of going back. If we \u201clook back\u201d by letting ourselves yearn for the nightlife in Sodom, it won\u2019t be long before we go back to live there. This does not mean we won\u2019t ever think about the past, but when we do, we will gently bring our minds back to where they need to be in the present. Tempted to reminisce, we will remember the decision we made to flee, and no matter what it costs, we will keep going toward God. Returning to Sodom is simply not an option.<\/p>\n When you from Sodom flee, the judgment to escape, Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n
Salvation will depend on never looking back.
(Angelus Silesius)<\/p>\n