Wrath or Restoration?

 Sodom and Gomorrah. Three words that cause more hate than almost any other in our language. What was it about these cities that so angered God that He decided to destroy them? He had already decimated humanity in a world-wide flood and then said He wouldn’t do that again; therefore these people must have done some pretty terrible things to push Him to this point. I realize that almost everyone has very set ideas about why God decided to get rid of them, and arguing about them won’t bring either side together. Instead I want to understand the heart of God about Sodom and Gomorrah.

   Was He stirred in anger towards a sick town of filthy sinners, or was it something more? What is God’s heart towards sin? God’s heart is to destroy sin, but to restore the sinner. He desires reconciliation over wrath. God desires to reestablish people, not watch them die in sin. Sin is what separates us from God and He loathes that division! God knows what sin does; ultimately it destroys our lives even while we are still living. Nothing can satisfy the longing in our hearts other than God. Sin keeps us from Him, and He burns in rage at the vile thing that takes His children away from Him. His heart for us is so loving we cannot comprehend the depths of it. 1 Timothy 1:13, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.” Words spoken by none other than Paul show us God’s heart.
   We are required by God to love Him and love each other: “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law,” Romans 13:9. Was God mad at Sodom? Yes, but He wanted to give them a chance at mercy! Their sins had piled up high to the heavens and there were a host of sins, not just one type. Unchecked sin will add up and distort into things we didn’t even know we were capable of; yet God is always wanting to redeem us. It’s time we stop using the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to demonize people who are sinning just like you and I do. 

   I think the biggest point of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah happened before the angels ever made it to the cities. God has just told Abraham He is on His was to destroy the city. Genesis 18:25, “Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham didn’t celebrate at their impending doom. He didn’t clap his hands with glee over the death of the “perverts” or even say, “Well God, I’ve been telling them to watch out for a while. I told them this was going to happen.” He began to intercede for them; he bargained, he talked it out with God. He had learned that God told him about what He was going to do because He wanted Abraham to plead for God’s mercy. Because that is what God’s people do; they see impending doom and they intercede not for themselves but a desperate, lost world. So maybe the takeaway from Sodom and Gomorrah isn’t about a specific sin at all; instead it’s that our response to another’s impending demise should be to plead for their forgiveness.