Grasping
Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. – Luke 17:32-33.
Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms. – Luke 17:32-33 (The Message).
No one is exactly sure what happened, except Edwin Galler, and he’s not talking about it. It happened in the Bronx on a Metro-North train. Joe Veniscofski, a train foreman said, “I have never, in my 16 years on the railroad, seen anything like this. This is the first.” It happened during rush hour with a train filled with commuters; shut the train down for two hours, and cost thousands of dollars. It also must have been at least a little embarrassing for Galler. The train foreman, Veniscofski, describes the scene, “He had to stick his hand inside of that loose splash guard, into the holding basin. And that’s when it got caught.” Apparently, Galler dropped his cell phone into a toilet while he was in the train’s restroom, and then tried to grab hold of it; but got his hand stuck. The toilet was stainless steel, and had to be cut apart to free Galler’s hand. Albert Cecere, facilities director said, “We did not recover the phone. I don’t know if he did or not.”
When Lot and his family were fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah, they were warned not to look back, as God rained fire and brimstone on those evil cities. Lot and his family had lived in that place for many years, even though Lot “vexed” his righteous soul by doing so. Apparently, Lot and his wife enjoyed living there so much so, that Lot’s wife looked back with longing toward their home, and turned into a “pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26).” Lot longed for his home in the city just as much as his wife (Genesis 19:17-20), but he did not look back, and was able to survive. Lot’s wife sought to save her worldly life at the expense of what was spiritually best for herself, and her family. As a result, she lost her physical life, and risked spiritual destruction.
What is it that you are grasping for in this life? What is it that you are risking? Are you just risking some embarrassment, or are you risking more – physical and emotional pain for yourself and others? Perhaps you are risking something even greater, such as spiritual destruction?
I am sure if Edwin Galler had it to do over again, he would have just let his cell phone go down the drain. It would have been a little thing, compared to all the trouble that resulted from his trying to keep his grasp on the phone. If he had just let go…. Maybe you just need to let go….
(Letting go of the things of this world, in order to grab hold of all God wants to give you, is the wise thing to do.)