When I mention the name of Lot, what do you think of? Personally, I see him as a scoundrel; the wealthy and selfish nephew of Abraham who, lifted his eyes towards Sodom, pitched his tent next to Sodom (before eventually moving into Sodom), sits in the gates of Sodom (suggesting at the very least he is a respected citizen of Sodom) and offers up his daughters to an angry mob in Sodom. Likely not someone I would choose to fellowship with given the choice.
However, God sees Lot differently and calls him righteous and just. What does God see that we do not? God sees a righteous man oppressed by the sin around him and sees his tormented and grieving soul. We on the other hand only take note of the outward man and have determined that Lot does not measure up to what we know God’s standards to be. Peter might shout back that if we do not know what lies within our own heart, how can we possibly know the heart of another. I am reminded of Jeremiah 17:9-10
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
What Are We Missing
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is an example for us and we may have missed God’s grace in the account, for it is a prophetic picture of the rapture of the church. God pulled out Lot (with all his ‘baggage’) before His wrath came down and in the same way, as 1 Thessalonians 5:9 declares, ‘God did not appoint us to wrath, ’either. In other words, God will pull us out too.
…The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, 2 Peter 2:9
God can tell the difference between a ‘Lot’ and a ‘liar’ and He can tell the difference between you and the baggage you struggle with. We have the assurance that all our sins, past, present, and yet future, have been washed cleaned by the blood of Jesus and the entire New Testament stands as a witness to that truth. Have you ever noticed that we never see the sin of one godly Old Testament man or women mentioned in the New Testament—not one. If God will rescue a ‘righteous’ man like Lot, He will rescue you as well—if you have Jesus Christ living in your heart.
He Dwells -- The B'log in My Eye 