“Remember = Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:32

The Pharisees were at it again.  They = started needling Jesus about when the end of the world would be.  Surely they were = righteous, and this young upstart from Galilee of the Gentiles was no more than a = fraud to deceive the people to stray from the established laws of Moses.  = They were sure that they were bound to catch him in his words sooner or later … = but it kept looking like later and later.

So Jesus uses the stories of Noah and of Lot to = describe the suddenness of His Coming.  It wasn’t that judgment is = fickle – it was that the longsuffering of God’s mercy has an end, and that = end can come in an instant when you are not looking for it.

And then He says, “Remember Lot’s wife”.  Do you remember her story?  She followed her = husband all the way from the sheepcotes of Abraham, through the division of their herds, and through Lot’s fatal decision to move to the fields around = Sodom.  Through all this, she kept close to her husband.

But it was that last longing for the world that = turned her head at the last moment and decided her final destiny.

But she was faithful for so long!  Why did = mercy fail her at this last moment of indiscretion?  Ah, but was it really a last = moment of indiscretion, or was it comfortable longing that had nestled in and = taken root in her heart, an that had been dismissed over the years as being insignificant?  No big deal.  Just a little = leaven.

Jesus then relates how that the final division of = judgment will cut between even those of the same house, the same laboring of = grinding the wheat, even the same fields of harvest – all descriptive = analogies of the Church. 

“Where will this division be?”, they = asked. 

And His answer is, “Wheresoever the body = is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”

I had to ask, what’s the deal with the = eagles?  Well, the word is “aeros”, which is translated as “eagles”, taking it’s root meaning from the word “air”, describing how eagles fly.  While it may be used = to describe an eagle, it also brings up an image of “the Prince of the powers = of the air”, the devil himself.

So wherever you see the Body of Christ, you will = see the devil trying to get in to rip, tear, and divide.

Okay, I understand all that.  That’s = pretty much standard Gospel.  But what has that got to do with the Coming of = the Lord?

The answer is in verse 33.

“Whosoever shall seek to save his life = shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve = it.”

Some people seek to serve the Lord with all their = hearts and are not only willing, but pressing to sacrifice the things of this = world to serve God.  Ask them to give up all their possessions, their = hard-earned career, their dreams and goals that they had for their futures, = everything that the world has offered them, and what do they say?  Yes!  = Without hesitation or regret.

But there are others sitting in the same pew, = singing the same Gospel songs, professing the same Jesus, grinding the same wheat, = and laboring in the same harvest fields.  Everything in their lives run = right along in synch with the Church and you would hardly see any difference between = them and those who they are mingled with.

But place them in a position of tribulation, of = sacrifice, and of deep personal subjection, and suddenly their whole perspective = changes.  Why look for trouble instead of ease?  Why not enjoy prosperity and = money instead of poverty and self-sacrifice?  Why not seek after = blessings instead of suffering? 

“After all,” they say, “since = Jesus suffered on the Cross, we shouldn’t have to suffer.”  = Um, that sounds appealing, but it appears you’ve been skipping over some = long passages in your Bible reading … that is, if you read at = all.

The ultimate test of Christianity is not whether = or not you believe that the Gospel is true, but whether or not you will give = your life for it – either figuratively or physically.

Yes, you believe in God.  Why, you even said = a prayer once upon a time up at the altar!  But is your heart crucified with = Christ?  Does the world hold a tether to your heart that you don’t want to give = up?  Is this Reality more important to you than the next?  In the end, = people follow their hearts.

It’s easy to be a Christian when life is = good, but it is to those pilgrims in this world who look to the Cross for their = eternal home who hunger for something different.  They are willing to go = through valleys, take part in the sufferings of Christ, and refuse what this = world has to offer in order to gain that which can only be found at the foot of = the Cross. 

 “These all died in faith, not having = received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on = the earth.”  = Hebrews 11:13

And that makes all the difference.

Remember Lot’s wife.