16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
The Lord's messengers had come to remind Abraham once again of his calling, and God's promise to make him a blessing to all peoples, by giving him a son. As they are leaving they look into his "back yard" and see the twin cities of sin, their next stop. While the Lord is planning blessing on Abraham, He is planning judgement on these cities. When he shares His plan with Abraham, he is hesitant to accept God's plan. God is going to clean up his back yard, with Lot and other family members in His path. Abraham seeks reassurance of God's very nature - that He is just and merciful, then releases his guests. Advent is a season of great joy - our Savior has come. But it also involves Him coming to clean up our hearts, our homes, and our "back yard." It is essential to His plan. We too, can be hesitant about what changes and scrubbing may need to take place for this to happen. But God's character is the same: He never changes. May we have hearts to say: "even so, come Lord Jesus; clean up this mess."
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