Did you ever think that God does what He does for you just because He loves you? I was reading this morning in Genesis 19 about the destruction of Sodom. By the time this part of the story was unfolding, Abraham had already parted from his nephew Lot. Lot, from what I read about him, wasn’t a stellar character.
Before things got ugly
God had sent His messengers to Sodom to check out the situation of the city. It isn’t as if God didn’t know what was going to happen. As I read the story of Lot this morning, I understood that the messengers weren’t sent to do anything besides save Lot and his family.
When these messengers arrived at Lot’s home, he at least had the sense to prepare a decent meal for them. He had an idea that they were special. When nefarious characters from the city wanted to do the unspeakable to them, Lot refused. He offered his daughters to them instead. What a stand up guy (written with deep sarcasm).
Early the next morning, God’s messengers knew that things were about to get ugly for Sodom. They rushed Lot and his family out of the house. Even at this juncture, Lot went reluctantly. His wife turned back to look, even though she was told not to, and turned into a permanent salt shaker. 🧂 But, Lot and his two daughters (the ones he was ready to sacrifice) were saved.
Just because He loves us
Why did God save this man? If it were me, I would’ve saved his daughters and let the rest face their futures. But God doesn’t work as we do. That is why He is God and we are not. He does things that we wouldn’t do just because He loves us.
God remembers us as He remembered Abraham. God didn’t save Lot for Lot’s sake. He saved him for Abraham’s sake. He does things for us just because He loves us. Why would God do anything for us? What can we do for Him that He can’t live without? He is perfect in Himself and has no need of anything – but He has chosen to love us. What a Father we have.
You can read throughout the Bible how God did many “just because” miracles:
- Jesus healed the centurion’s servant (Luke 7:1-10). This servant was healed because of the pleading of the centurion. Why would this man plead for his servant? Because he cared for him.
- Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain from the dead because He had compassion on her (Luke 7:11-15).
- Jesus raised a synagogue official’s daughter from the dead because her father loved her (Matthew 9:18-25).
The knock-off effect of just because
Don’t ever think that you are unloved and that your prayers don’t matter to God. He will cover you and your loved ones as you serve Him. There’s a knock-off effect in place over our loved ones as we serve God.
Understanding that God cares for me so much gives me great comfort. He will do things for me “just because.”
As you may or may not know, I live in Africa, far away from my grown children and grandchildren. My prayers are focused on them every day and every night. I’ll often step outside in the evening. And I’ll look up at the moon and know that they see the same moon as I do. I ache to see them. But I know that as I live in God’s will, He looks on me with compassion. He covers those that I love just because He loves me.
You may be facing a similar ache. Your loved ones might have fled far. They might have to be rescued through fire like Lot. But just because God loves you, He will send messengers. He will grab their hands and force them out if need be.
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