Lot's Lot

Sometimes the choices in life seem good at the time. But they lead us bit by bit into a situation when we suddenly realise how far we have moved out of God’s plan for our lives. It may have been a career decision, or a relationship choice, or something else where the grass seemed greener, more secure, more exciting. But now, you feel stuck, unable to move on or out, and increasingly influenced by the culture around you.

Its kind of like the path that a man called Lot took when he made the choice to separate from his Uncle and head over towards the fertile plains of Sodom. The choice was most probably an astute one, given the economics of the situation, and the need to settle down from the nomadic lifestyle and put down roots. But the poor guy didn’t seem to have the foresight to see that its not just about the money. That the end result of living in a godless culture would lead him not just to distance himself from God, but to open himself and his family up to all sorts of risks. And its not just about the sex. Thats what Sodom has come to be famous for in history. But a society with few controls on moral behaviour rapidly becomes a society that opens itself up to violence and injustice.

But what struck me by the whole Lot and Abraham story is that incredible passage in Genesis 18 where Abraham debates with God over the fate of Sodom and his nephews family who are living there. What struck me is that sometimes a good man, like Lot, can be stuck in an intolerable situation, and become spiritually unable to help himself to escape. What he needed was an Abraham, living on a higher plain, walking in communion with God, to intercede and pray on his behalf.

What a powerful spiritual tool is intercession. To be able to stand in the place of people who cannot or will not pray for themselves, and who are maybe not even conscious of the dangerous situation they are in. I walk through the park and down by the river, and I see countless faces, marked by worry an anxiety. And I wonder, who is stand up for them . Who is interceding before a holy God and pleading for their lives, for God to break through and overwhelm them with His mercy and love. I wish I could be that one.

By the way, the picture is of a 5th century mosaic depicting the parting of the ways between Abraham and Lot that is situated in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome