Genesis 19:4-8

Good morning, y'all! :)
So, I was going through my "drafts" folder in my e-mail program, and discovered several Mornin' SunShine e-mails there that were started but, for some reason, never finished or sent! :P Therefore, I've decided to pull them out and use them for the next few days... :)

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Genesis 19:4-8
Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally."
So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof."

Lot has some big character problems that become glaringly obvious in these verses, but there was one that I hadn't ever noticed before reading this story recently. Lot, apparently, was quite aware of the state of wickedness in Sodom--he says that "this is the reason" he insisted the two strangers come and stay at his house. So why in the world was he still living there?? Why was he still living and working and investing in this place?? We know from Genesis 13 that Lot chose Sodom and the valley around it because it looked like a good place to live; a profitable place to live. And there's not necessarily anything wrong with that. But once Lot realized what kind of place he was living in, he should have pulled out of there. His lack of protection over those entrusted to his care is rather appalling. Because of his unwillingness to leave Sodom when he saw their sinfulness and unwillingness to repent, he ends up fleeing just ahead of God's judgment, with only his wife and two of his daughters, losing some of his family and all the earthly possessions he held so dear. And then he loses even his wife because her heart was so entwined in Sodom she looked back as they fled!
Obviously, to think we can live in a country, a state, or a city where there is no sin is foolish. However, we are not of the world, but have been chosen out of the world (John 15:19), commanded to "love not the world, neither the things of the world" (1 John 2:15), and called to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-16). When Jesus was on earth, He walked among the sinners; taught them, loved them, fed them, and ate with the repentant ones--but His real fellowship and relationships were not invested in sinners who refused to repent. There was a marked difference between Him and the sinners He was dying to save. Where do we invest most of our time, energy, and money--in things of the world, or in the things of God? Is there a marked difference, a separation, between us and the dark world around us?

Father, help me to live separate from the world around me, set apart for You alone. Teach me to invest in Your kingdom, not in earthly things!

May the Lord richly bless you as you seek to live a life set apart for Him!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
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