Remember Lot's wife

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. Genesis 19:16

We are such compromisers.

And although we serve a merciful God, we do not serve a compromising god. There is a difference. He means what He says, and He says what He means, (an elephant is faithful) one hundred percent.

And what does He say? We are to love the LORD our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

And the lure of the luxurious level grassy plains gleams all around us. So very sweet and so very here. The sensual slips so silkily into the meditation of my heart. Even (especially) in this season of considering the One Who Made Himself Nothing. And it is oh so easy to unlove, to blurt out judgment rather than the mercy that is He.

And He has called us higher. Further up and further in. To the high places. 

Much-Afraid looked at the thorn and shrank from it. Then she looked at the Shepherd’s face and repeated his words to herself. ’When the seed of Love in your heart is ready to bloom, you will be loved in return,’ and a strange new courage entered her. She suddenly stepped forward, bared her heart, and said, ‘Please plant the seed here in my heart.’

His face lit up with a glad smile and he said with a note of joy in his voice, ‘Now you will be able to go with me to the High Places and be a citizen in the Kingdom of my Father.’

Then he pressed the thorn into her heart. It was true, just as he had said, it did cause a piercing pain, but it slipped in quickly and then, suddenly, a sweetness she had never felt or imagined before tingled through her. It was bittersweet, but the sweetness was the stronger. She thought of the Shepherd’s words, ‘It is so happy to love,’ and her pale, sallow cheeks suddenly glowed pink and her eyes shown. For a moment Much-Afraid did not look afraid at all. (Hinds Feet on High Places)

I remember how much Margaret then Boice loved this story. I think it helped a lot that first summer of flies and sweat trickling down the back of her neck. And her eyes shown.

For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. Galatians 5:6

My Strength and my Redeemer.