God often calls his people to move to a new place as he does with Abraham. Sometimes it is even more urgent, as it is with lot. Sometimes he calls us to stay put. Noah is to remain shut up in the ark for forty days. These are not easy things. Noah has to leave the world to which he is accustomed behind and move into the ark even before the flood comes and makes the reason for this move obvious. Lot must leave without looking back at what he leaves behind. He therefore leaves unable to fully understand just what he is escaping.
We see a pattern emerge. In order not to miss God's attempt to save us from judgment we must not be so attached to this world that we are unwilling to move. Instead, our attachment must be such that we can move just because of his word and not only when we see the circumstances change.
We cannot return to what was left behind. To put it harshly, we can't be a dog that returns to its vomit (cf. Pro. 26:11). We can't cling to our old lives or we'll end up losing them. Things in the world may well continue as normal. There is the usual "eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, [and] building". It is so normal, so regular, as to be hypnotic. This conditions us to keep doing what we've always been doing. We seem to stick out so much when we ignore what the world considers normal and follow God's law instead. We need to know the truth:
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
The words of Jesus are our rescue. The Church is the ark formed by his words. The world tells us to come out and dance in the streets as the rain begins to fall. They tell us that there is no rescue and that no rescue is necessary.
Many deceivers have gone out into the world,
those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh;
such is the deceitful one and the antichrist.
Jesus comes to rescue us from the hands of our enemies (cf. Luk. 1:74). He comes to make us free (cf. Joh. 8:36). He rescues us from the body that is subject to death (cf. Rom. 7:24). He rescues us from the present evil age (cf. Gal. 1:4). He rescues us from the dominion of darkness and brings us into his own kingdom (cf. Col. 1:13).
When the world lies to us about this we need to hold onto these words of truth. When we get antsy in the ark we need to stay until the dove finds dry land. If we leave sooner the rescue will not be successful. Even though we may begin to crave novelty we need to hold fast to what we "heard from the beginning":
For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments;
this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning,
in which you should walk.
This is how we do not lose what we worked for. We don't want to be like someone that helped build the ark and then nevertheless was swept away in the flood. Even if things seem like business as usual we need to move when Jesus says to move and stay put when and where he says to stay put.
Let us not just acknowledge his words, let us prize them. Let us say, "Within my heart I treasure your promise". Let us pray, "Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonder of your law." If we pray this way the LORD will plant his word so deeply in us that the world will not be able to snatch it away (cf. Mat. 13:4).
It is worth it because "whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son." There is nothing better.
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