Just how patient is God?

Abraham said, ‘Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord.
Suppose that only twenty are found?’
He said, ‘I will not destroy the city if I find twenty’.
Abraham said, ‘Please don’t be angry, Lord,
and I will speak only once more.
What if only ten are found?’
He said, ‘I will not destroy it if there are ten’.  (Verses 31, 32)

Read Genesis 18:16-33

There are all sorts of ways in which we could react to this story. We could marvel at the evil of Sodom, and, Jonah – like, wonder at God’s willingness to show mercy to such a place.

We could be impressed with Abraham’s compassion for a town that had become his nephew’s home, so much so that he prayed for them with ever more ‘unreasonable’ requests.

Or we could be amazed by the patience and grace of God, who was prepared to spare a city of unbounded wickedness if a mere ten righteous people could be found.

I believe we should look at our own society, and ourselves. If God had looked at us, when we were not his friends, he wouldn’t have found any righteous people in our towns either. Including you and me. He would have had to say of us too, ‘Not one of them does what is right, not a single one’ (Psalm 14:3).

But God was prepared to spare us, even though there were none who were righteous. He punished his Son instead. There need be no more destruction like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Good Friday saw to that.

Father, I thank you that you loved me, even though I was still a sinner. Amen.

by Bob Turnbull, in ‘God’s Promises for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1999)

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