Peace Despite Evil

Some verses and passages of Scripture fill me with grief. Here's one of them:

They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. Genesis 19:11

These were the men of Sodom, neighbors of Abraham's nephew Lot. Two angels had come to Lot to warn him that God was about to destroy the city. The narrative very quickly shows why destruction had to come, as we read that “the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter.” There's no sugar-coating this story or the intentions of the men of Sodom. They intended to take the angelic visitors and gang rape them. And there weren't just a few men. It was all the men.

As if that intention is not bad enough, verse 11 shows what happens when the angels use their miraculous power to intervene. They strike the men blind, but still the men do not stop.

I'm sure you've seen the clips from various zombie movies, with the living dead relentlessly pursuing their victims. Nothing stops them. Nothing distracts them. They just keep moving forward. That's how I see these men of Sodom. Even when struck blind, it's as if they didn't even notice. Only their lack of ability to find the door prevented them from following through with their plans for the evening.

As I look around at this world, I see so many situations in which the same thing happens. Evil runs rampant. Punishment descends, but the evil continues.

Yet I can smile and be filled with peace even in the midst of it all. Why? Because one night hundreds of years later, another event occurred that seemed as horrific as that terrible night in Sodom. The perpetrators were just as bent on evil. In fact, they even acknowledged on several occasions that they knew Jesus had been sent by God. Even faced with that truth, they willingly pushed onward, diving into the depths of their sin, heaping conviction upon Innocence personified.

The next day, they crucified the Son of God.

Tears flow down my cheeks even as I type. But, oh how thankful I am for that tragic day! Because of that Friday, we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. Because of that horror, I have no fear of the evil that fills this world. I can read about Sodom knowing that grace, mercy, and love flow more strongly than such dark evil.

Even as I contemplate the significance of Good Friday, my heart has already pressed forward to Sunday. Evil has lost. Holiness has won.

He is risen!