“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” (Matthew 5:13)
WHAT IMAGES COME TO YOUR MIND when you think of Abraham? It is actually not very difficult to imagine the patriarch pitching his tent in a solitary place, and then building an altar on which to worship God with his family. And what do you imagine when you think of Lot? I don’t know about you, but I tend to associate him with Sodom. A night and day difference. Why?
Speaking of Abraham is speaking of a tent and an altar. The tent identified Abra- ham as a pilgrim and stranger in this world, “for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). In turn, the altar was a testimony of the God he worshiped. Day after day, his family and servants met around the altar to receive “such instruction as would prepare them to be representatives of the true faith.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, ch. 11, p. 141.
In Lot’s case, on the other hand, there was neither a tent nor an altar. Therefore, it is not surprising that when Lot wanted to warn his sons-in-law of Sodom’s imminent destruction, they “thought he was joking” (Genesis 19:14, NIV). Patriarchs and Prophets says that, “They laughed at what they called his superstitious fears.”—Ibid., ch. 14, p. 139.
How can something so unheard of be explained? The only possible explanation for Lot’s sons-in-laws is that by that time in his life, to a large extent Lot had lost his credibility. He could speak or be quiet, the effect was the same. In the Lord’s words, the salt had lost its flavor. And when that happens, my friend, “lt is then good for nothing” (Matthew 5:13).
I wonder what went through Lot’s mind after having lost his wife and everything he had amassed in Sodom: when he remembered the days in which he had lived in tents with Abraham; when they worshiped God around the altar; and most of all, when having been able to settle in Canaan, he had chosen to live in the Jordan x’a11ey. He must have felt a tremendous sense of loss! The problem began when he gradually began pitching “his tents near Sodom” (Genesis 13:12), until the day came when the salt lost its flavor.
How can you and I avoid the same mistake? On one hand, let us never lose sight of the fact that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20); on the other, let us do our best so that nothing all keep us from having a daily encounter with God around the altar.
Dear Lord, like Abraham, I ask that nothing in this world will make me lose sight
Of the fact that I am a pilgrim, and that my citizenships is in heaven.
Let nothing keep me from having a personal daily encounter
At the altar with You.
#AdultsDevotional
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2022
“GREAT IS OUR GOD!”
From: FERNANDO ZABALA
Colaboradores: Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate
