DAY 61 - BIG PICTURE IN A YEAR - THE FALL & THE FLOOD

by King's Cross Training April 6, 2021

“you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Genesis 2: 17

Choices have consequences. They take you down one path or another. And those paths lead to different destinations. In the case of Adam and Eve, the choice they made to disobey God led to death. It had serious consequences for themselves, their children and, ultimately, for all mankind.

There is a point in the Table Mountain reserve in Cape Town at which the waters of a small stream separate. It would not seem to matter much whether a drop of water goes to the left or to the right. But the outcome of those drops of water is totally different. One drop goes to the west and eventually flows into False Bay. Another drop goes east and ends up in the Atlantic Ocean. Two drops of water, two entirely different destinations, but one small turning point that determines the outcome.

Many choices in life are like that. At the time they don’t seem significant. But those choices set in motion a series of events which shape your life and the lives of your children and grandchildren after you, just as they did for Adam and Eve. Think about the choices that led to you getting saved, for example, or meeting your spouse.

Seemingly small decisions can have momentous consequences, so it’s important to know how to make good choices. The story of Lot’s choices, versus Abram’s choices, which is in our Reading for today, teaches us some valuable lessons.

Lot originally made a bold, faith-filled decision by choosing to leave the comfort zone of his known world and follow God with Abram. That’s a bit like our original decision to follow Christ, isn’t it? It’s a significant, life-changing decision but it’s not where the story ends. All along the way, Lot and Abram had to continue making choices – were they going to follow God, or the world? This is exactly like our Christian lives. Every day we are presented with choices to make. Some are easy to make and present little challenge. Others test our faith in God to the utmost and we are dragged to the very brink of destruction by the temptation to do what feels safe, more sensible, more enticing…than what God has asked us to do.

In the case of Lot, he chose to look at Sodom as an option for his life, then he moved near Sodom and finally we find him actually living in Sodom as a city official. His end was horrible! He lost his home and his wife and produced children through incestuous relations with his own daughters.

The Bible says that it’s possible to gain the whole world and lose your soul. We must base our choices on God’s Word, not on the assumptions of our culture or what our unsanctified flesh prompts us to want and do.

Prayer

Lord, please forgive me for the selfish and worldly decisions I’ve made. Help me with each decision I face, to remember Your principles and apply them.

For the family

Younger kids

Younger kids will enjoy watching this video clip about Lot and Abram. Then you can explain the devotion in an age appropriate way.

Older kids

Engage in a conversation around choices that the children have made. What informed those choices? How did they turn out?