Protected by grace

 

오늘의 묵상 (창19:15~17, 29)

 

 

15. 이튿날 새벽이 되자, 천사들이 롯에게 빨리 떠날 것을 요구했습니다. "서둘로 여기 있는 아내와 두 딸을 데리고 나가시오. 죄악으로 인해 이 성에 심판이 임할 때에 당신들이 죽는 것을 막기 위해서요."

 

16. 그래도 롯이 머뭇거리자, 그 사람들은 롯과 그의 아내와 두 딸의 손을 잡아끌고, 성 밖 안전한 곳으로 데리고 나갔습니다. 이처럼 여호와께서는 롯과 그의 가족에게 자비를 베푸셨습니다.

 

17. 두 사람은 롯과 그의 가족을 성 밖으로 데리고 나갔습니다. 그 중 한 사람이 말했습니다. "살려면 이 곳을 피해야 하오. 골짜기 어디에서든 뒤를 돌아보거나 멈추지 마시오. 산으로 도망가시오. 그렇게 하지 않으면 당신들도 죽을 것이오."

 

29. 하나님께서 골짜기의 성들을 멸망시키셨지만 아브라함의 부탁을 기억하셔서, 롯이 살던 성을 멸망시키실 때에 롯의 목숨을 살려 주셨습니다.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROTECTED BY GRACE

 

 

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, . . . he brought Lot out of the catastrophe . . . (Gen. 19:29)

 

    

I NEED GRACE DAILY, and every day I need to give grace. When I shout at my children, I need grace from them. When another person is having a difficult day, I need to extend grace. Grace is receiving something good that I don't deserve. It is also not receiving the punishment I do deserve.

    

God lavished grace on Lot before He destroyed Sodom. Did Lot deserve protection? Well, he chose to live among people who blatantly defied God. He allowed sin to run rampant around him without complaint. Lot even offered his daughters to the lustful crowd when the angels were threatened. Clearly, Lot was not a shining example of godliness. Yet when Lot hesitated to leave the city, God's angels moved him and his family out by force. Why? Because “the Lord was merciful to them” (Gen. 19:16).

     

I struggle with this verse, because it doesn't seem right. Why would God protect Lot after he had strayed so far? While God's ways remain a mystery, I am confident that He understood Lot's heart. He gave Lot a second chance. Lot didn't deserve protection, but then neither do any of us. God's grace was offered for our eternal protection long before we turned to Him, and that same grace covers our foolishness every day.

 

 

—Jennifer A. Mikesell

 

 

Thank God for extending grace to you today.