In a world of fake news, do you find it difficult to believe what is being announced? Further to this, there is the temptation to discount the truth because we are turned off by the packaging it comes in. Sometimes it is hard to believe what we are hearing. We can laugh it off with a roll of the eyes, hesitate and not respond quickly enough, or even think negotiating or arguing with the one bringing the news is the right course of action. If anything of this resonates, then we are ready to read these verses that reveal how people can respond when crises land.
“The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marryhis daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. 15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” 16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” 18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,please! 19 Yourservant has found favour in youreyes, and youhave shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.” 21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.) (Genesis 19 v 12-22)
Here is the news: the end of the world is nigh (well, the city anyway).
That is impossible, so thought the sons-in-law of Lot. This is exaggeration at best and hysteria at worst. That moment when they decide not to believe would cost them more than they realised; they would die.
Yet isn’t this the Christmas story too? Who could believe such news? The packaging seemed all wrong. A baby born to be King?
The Apostle Peter spoke of the story of Lot and saw the mercy and the redemption that Christ has brought.
“… if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials … (2 Peter 2 v 7-9)
This was undoubtedly not Lot’s righteousness. He hadn’t done anything righteous. And of course neither have we. Lot was influenced by the city he lived in. And we, too, are influenced by the society we live in. Our sins may not be as dark as Lot’s, but we are foolish, and we fail. We are not righteous. Yet Lot’s soul was tormented; he had conviction. And we, too, feel that conviction when we sin. The Bible calls us (who put our faith in Him) righteous, as Peter does about Lot, not because of our actions, but because of the Lord’s. It is His grace and mercy. This is the redemptive story.
This is the heart of Christmas: God calling us righteous not because we’ve earned it, but because of what He has done. The baby in the manger would grow to become our righteousness.
Lot hesitated. What was he thinking about? Was it what he would lose in the destruction? What were these doubts? We know the story, and we know he will later look back on what he lost with drastic consequences. Here, he hesitated, and the angels grabbed his hand and dragged him to safety. Mercy sometimes looks like being dragged away, even when we hesitate.
Remarkably, Lot is selective about his next home. He opts for a town instead of the mountains. Within God’s mercy lies a sense of flexibility. This story emphasises mercy rather than judgment—mercy that guides us to safety and patiently waits until we feel secure.
This Christmas, mercy reaches out to us. Will we let go of what doesn’t bring life and embrace true Life? Will we shrug off the announcement? Will we pause at the door? Will we settle for lesser things? Or will we accept the hand that heaven extends? The hand that once was small enough to fit into Mary’s hand and which became the hand that was nailed to the cross, and now the hand strong enough to pull us to safety even when we feel paralysed?
Mercy came down at Christmas, and it continues to wait for us to find refuge. This Christmas, don’t hold back. The angels are at the door, the rescue is genuine, and mercy is extending its hand. Will you take it?
Missions Paul 