Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read Genesis 19:12-26.
In the preceding chapter, God had revealed God’s plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the sinfulness of the people who lived there. Knowing that his nephew Lot and his family lived there, Abraham negotiated with God to see if the cities could be saved if a few righteous people lived in them. In an almost humorous series of back and forth, God agreed to spare the cities if only ten righteous people could be found there. When God’s two angels appeared in Sodom as men, the city’s men came looking to have sex with them. Only Lot, his wife (temporarily), and their two daughters were saved, as they ran for Zoar just before Sodom and Gomorrah went up in smoke.
As Christians, we know that we are people saved by grace. But in our focus on grace, sometimes we forget there are consequences for our actions. Paul encountered this in the heresy of the libertines who thought they could live as they pleased and do anything at all and not be punished. If we try to accept God’s grace without letting it change us, we cheapen it. God warns us of our unrighteous actions and tries to reach us, calling us to repentance. If we ignore that, we will suffer the consequences.
Personal Worship Option:
Thank you, Almighty God, for your love we know as grace…love that you pour out on us in abundance although we are not worthy. Help us to let that gift change us, making us to be more like Christ. Remind us that we may suffer consequences when we do not act accordingly. Amen.
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