A couple of weeks ago, I was conversing with a friend about a story in the Bible that is familiar to many religious people (which I will go into below). This story is often presented to the religious in a way that tries to, in my opinion, scare people out of hell and into heaven. This limiting and fear-based presentation never sat well with me. However, during our conversation, I was inspired to view this story from a totally different perspective.
Let us approach this story and this new perspective with an appreciable analogy.
Anyone who have experienced the joys of parenthood has also experienced its great challenges. For all of the warm and fuzzy moments with that cuddly bundle of joy, just we enjoy all the pleasant baby noises and smells, there are also diaper changes, sleep interruptions, and the "terrible twos". In the vast majority of cases, the joys of raising the child far outweigh the constant challenges of time, money, discipline, and vigilance, which are inherent in parenting.
Because of the nature of routine, parents face different challenges as the child grows up and moves toward adulthood. The parents, knowing that this time is inevitable, still struggle to let go; and children, while eager to stand on their own, don't quite yet know enough, being ignorant of their ignorance. And so, the teenage years are often fraught with great angst, as the child butts heads with the parents, and as the child inevitably stumbles, biting off more than he can chew from time to time. While mistakes, fits, and starts are expected, parents can find it to be exceedingly frustrating when the child (now a young adult) keeps making the same types of mistakes, especially mistakes about which he was taught, and getting into trouble that he has already seen and been saved from.
In retrospect, many of us look back and wonder how we made it through such an exciting, yet turbulent time; a time when our whole life was ahead of us, and yet a time when we knew just enough to be dangerous; a time when the prayers of our loved ones outweighed our bad decisions fueled by our youthful ignorance and foolishness.
In the evolution of human consciousness and spirituality, we can liken our progress to that of a child who grows into adulthood. Presently, many of us are at that teenage stage of youthful exuberance, but we serve a merciful God Who keeps us from falling.
The Bible story that we use as our context is found in Genesis 19:12-16. In brief, this is the story of the angels coming to take Lot and his family from Sodom before God destroyed it. This was after Abraham reasoned with God about possibly saving the city for the sake of the righteous.
There are a few details about this account that draw our attention, which we can also see in our own lives, that we can use to bring awareness to and compel us to improve our own behavior.
If we recall, it was Lot who chose to live in Sodom because "it was well watered every where... even as the garden of the LORD", relegating his uncle and mentor, Abraham, to dwell in less-desirable Canaan. So Lot was in the place that he chose, a place that looked good. But, while there, Lot was captured in war, and Abraham had to save him. Still, Lot stayed in Sodom. Then, when God sent his emissaries to destroy the land, they first went to Lot and his family to save them, the only righteous in the place (there weren't even 10). God proved Abraham's assertion to be true (Genesis 18:25):
That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from Thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
But, the Bible says that "while [Lot] lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city."
Even when told (on good authority) that the end had come, Lot still dragged his feet, and the angels had to drag him! And even then, not everyone left, and even after that, his wife ended up looking back!
To be sure, few people (even great ones) have rushed headlong into the unknown future. Notable people include Moses and Solomon. Even people considered great in more recent times were thrust into greatness, e.g. George Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sometimes, the scope of what needs to be done is just so big. Yet, even as we acknowledge that a really big change is needed, we lose faith in the possibility because what is needed seems so far beyond our own personal ability, and it even seems unlikely that any reputable and capable organization, institution, or government in the world would accept or embrace such a challenge. The sentiments are familiar:
And yet, the doing of big things is not unprecedented in the recorded history of mankind. The Bible, for example, tells us about the parting of the Red Sea. Even in more modern times, few foresaw the collapse of the government of a country as large as the Soviet Union. Few foresaw that a country that was built on the back of slaves would give up slavery. Few of us expected to see a black president of the USA. Few expected to see powerful business, entertainment, and political elites be held accountable for their predatory sexual behavior.
Although these examples pale in comparison to the overhaul needed in the world today, they are hints that God is still able to bring forth such miracles today. But, so many have bought the story and written off their faith in God's promises of delivery and restoration, of God's strength and power, and God's sense of righteousness, justice, and judgment; and have instead bet on trying to make it in this world according to the corrupt rules of the world, which are designed to keep the dark ones in power.
We see the signs of divine judgment (death, violence, pestilence, poverty...) and yet still hesitate to accept that there is a God and that we should develop and strengthen a relationship with Him. While the oppressive ones continually mock the faithful with the question, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice..." many of the faithful have become resigned to what they perceive as their fate wonder, "Where is the LORD?" But, it has been prophesied for us to "Prepare ye the Way of the LORD" because, after a certain time is expired, "God is coming." Now, those with eyes to see can see the judgment going on all around us. And, although some of us have bet on God not coming, God can see our mistaken assumptions, our weak faith, and our fearful or broken hearts, and still keep us from falling to the oppressor!
While it is true that we live in a world where the vast majority of people are living under some form of restriction, limitation, or oppression, we must concede that many times, it is our own choices that do us in. God can and does save, but at some point, we have to "get it", i.e. get the point and lessons of this cycle and level of existence.
In school, if a student doesn't show proficiency in the current grade level, that student is left behind and has to repeat that year again. This happens regardless of if the child has a learning problem or if the child has the mental ability, but simply goofs off and refuses to do the work. Similarly, there are Cosmic cycles (we're at the end/beginning of one now), and just like with school, if we don't show a certain proficiency in learning and demonstrating love of God and love of fellowman, we too will be left behind, relegated to repeat another cycle.
Those of us who've been in a transitional organization, be it college, the military, Peace Corps, etc. look back on those days, usually with great fondness. We had a lot of fun. We established ourselves as adults in the world. We began forming our outlook on life. We began setting our life patterns. But, with all the fondness that we feel for yesteryear, few would prefer to live in yesteryear! For as uncertain as our future seemed then, there was a certain finality to that transitional period (graduation, discharge, etc.). We were, as it were, pushed out. We were told, "This is not the end, but the beginning (i.e. commencement)." We were encouraged to "find ourselves", to "make a difference". Perhaps we even felt an inner yearning to fulfill a life purpose.
All of this seemed so abstract at the time, perhaps even overwhelming, and the temptation to hang out just a little while longer was very real. For all of the progress that we had made, for all of the lessons we had received and mastered, we still felt a degree of unreadiness. But God, through some agent, took us by the hand, and over the years, in spite of our missteps and bad decisions, in spite of our self-consciousness and fear, and He kept us from falling! And God took us from where we were to where we are today; and we're still not finished!
Esteemed religious prelates have been so urgent in their message of the shortage of time because we already know the lesson of this cosmic cycle, we've reviewed it many times, and we're in (as it were) "finals week". And, some of us are like Lot, out partying, having a good time, trying to hold onto the college experience before it's all over and we have to move on.
As this cycle closes and the new one begins, let us not be a modern-day Lot. The song encourages us in our timidity, "Now the future lies before me, and I know not where I'll be; but wherever my pathway leads me, Savior keep me close to Thee!"
Because He is able to keep us from falling!
