by Tim Groves

When the two angels brought Lot, his wife and his two daughters out of Sodom, they told them to not stay in the plain area and to not look back (verse 17).

But Lot’s wife did, and she became a pillar of salt.

A couple of thousand years later, Christ was talking about the end of the present world. In that context Christ told His followers to remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32).

Why did Lot’s wife look back? Why should we remember her?

Although we can’t say for certain exactly why she looked back, here are some possibilities:

1. She liked it in Sodom. She may have been born and raised in Sodom. It was her life. Perhaps she liked the people and the way of life there.
2. Some of her children were still there.
3. She wanted to go back.

When God calls us, we have to be willing to forsake everything in order to follow Him (Luke 14:33). Sometimes Christians have to forsake their own family members to be part of God’s Church (verse 26). It’s not that we necessarily have to—but we must be willing to.

By looking back, Lot’s wife showed that she wasn’t willing to forsake all in order to obey God. Maybe she didn’t really count the cost and only hastily decided to leave Sodom.

Christ tells us that we have to count the cost before we decide to follow Him (verse 28). Once we decide to follow Christ, we are to move forward and not look back (Luke 9:62).

This is the important lesson we learn from Lot’s wife.

For further insight into the danger of “looking back” like Lot’s wife, read “The New Morality and an Old City.”

Tomorrow on the Daily Bible Verse Blog: “Is God Listening?”