Last Sunday the boys and I stayed home from church. Our family had all taken turns being sick last week, so we didn't want to take our germy boys to church to share with other families. While we were home, the boys and I read a story out of their Bible Children's Story Book.
Our story came from Genesis 14. In the story, Lot and his family are living in the city of Sodom. The Bible tells us that Sodom was not a good place to live. The town was full of wicked people who didn't honor God. While Lot and his family are living there, they are taken captive along with others from the town. When Lot's uncle, Abram, hears what has happened to his family, he gathers his trained men and rescues Lot's family and the other people and goods that were taken.
Later we learn that after being saved, Lot and his family return to Sodom. Really? They return to the city that is wicked? They return to the city that was defeated?
Several hours after reading the story, Ben who's six, came to me and asked, "Why would Lot and his family return to a bad place?" That's a good question, isn't it?
Part of me wonders...Did Lot and his family recognize how bad their city was or did they close their eyes to things they didn't want to acknowledge? We've all done it before, right? Sometimes it's easier to ignore something we don't want to deal with. If we don't really acknowledge it....then we can pretend it's not there.
It's like, "I know that there is laundry to do, but if I stay out of the laundry room it's easy to ignore for awhile." Except that when you finally go into the laundry room the mountains of dirty clothes are higher than before. Or how about when God is speaking to you about something he wants you to change in your life...and you do everything you can do to avoid having the conversation with God or those he is using to speak to you. If I don't say it out loud, or I don't acknowledge it to someone else...I can just move on and forget about it. Except it doesn't work that way. It will come up again...eventually.
Or maybe Lot went back knowing that it was a wicked place, but went back because...well...that's just where he lived. I think we do that too. We know that there is something we need to change, something we need to do, or not do...but we just keep doing the same old things because that's what we do.
After the kids and I read this story, Denver came home from church and throughout the night began to tell me about everything I'd missed at church. He told me about who was sick and who was there. He passed on messages and reminded me of things I need to check on for people and he also told me a little about his sermon. Part of what he preached about was how we sometimes get into this pattern of "sin, confess, repeat. sin, confess repeat....". Yep. We do. I do. It's kinda like Lot...going back to the wicked place.
I know God is speaking to me this week. I have things to change. I need to quit going back to a place that God has freed me from....a place where I'm in captivity...a place where I fall back into old routines. I don't want to go back. I don't want to "repeat". If my son Ben knows that we shouldn't go back to the wicked place....then shouldn't I?
How about you? Do you have things that you keep going back to? Why? God doesn't want us to live in these places. His plans are so much better for his children.
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