God’s Merciful Hand
“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For he is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:35-37, NKJV).
You probably remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis. Two angels, appearing as men, approached the gates of Sodom. They were most likely dressed as ordinary people.
Abraham’s nephew Lot sat at the city gate, possibly in some official rank (he may have been one of the city elders who welcomed visitors).
Why did God send angels to rescue Lot and his family? We know that Lot and his daughters ultimately were saved from Sodom, but his two sons-in-law and wife were destroyed. Why was Lot saved? Why did God send angels to pull this man out of the city before its destruction? Was it because of Lot’s morality? Was it because God saw something great in him?
No! The answer is very simple. Scripture says, “…the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city” (Genesis 19:16). God extended mercy to Lot.
I see Lot as a type of remnant believer in these last days, living in a wicked society about to be judged. Today, America is ripe for destruction; indeed, our nation is already under judgment. Lot represents the righteous remnant church in the midst of it, for the Bible calls Lot a righteous man (see 2 Peter 2:6-8).
Yet, if God’s church today is righteous, it is only because of the blood of Jesus Christ and not because of any goodness or morality the Lord has seen in us. It is only out of his sheer mercy that he came to us and pulled us out of judgment, even when we hesitated to leave our sins.
The Lord, being merciful to us, brought us forth and has set us outside this doomed society. Beloved, we deserve to be consumed, but thank God for his merciful hand.