Genesis 6:5-8 (NLT)
“ 5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.”
Some people work hard to make the world more fair. Some people are includers, making sure no-one is left out. Some people are amazing friends and some people somehow just make everything beautiful. Imagine the people in your life who make you feel wrapped up in love and goodness just by being with them. They are joy bringers, bucket fillers, compassion carriers.
Now imagine that there were no people like that…at all…anywhere. Imagine selfishness and hatefulness everywhere. Imagine a world with no beauty, no kindness, no compassion. Just dark hearts, dark minds…a dark, dark world.
Now imagine you were God, the one who created this dark, dark world, but you didn’t mean for it to turn out like this. When you made everything, you made it for joy; made it beautiful, but then the people you loved just trashed it, and one another. Imagine if their only joy was in hurting one another. Would your heart hurt for your creation? I imagine that God’s heart was more than just hurt, I imagine that it was sore to the very center of who God is. Everything was ruined. God’s creation had utterly destroyed everything good in themselves. No goodness, no light, nothing redeemable…except one man.
Noah had tried his best to serve God and lead his family toward goodness and light in this dark, dark, world. When God looked around his creation, the only thing he saw worth saving was Noah. So he gave Noah and his family an escape from this enclosing darkness…he gave him a plan. A literal plan. A blueprint to build a zoo boat, an ark, and get every good man, woman, child and animal out of that darkness. The only thing Noah had to do to save the world was be obedient to God and build that boat. And in the face of people’s ugly words, their teasing, their hurtfulness, he and his family did just that, they built that boat! And because of Noah’s goodness, because of his obedience, God would save the world from itself.
And then the rain came. Out of God’s deep hurt gushed rivers and oceans of despair, and anger and frustration and it overflowed the low valleys and the high places. No person, place or thing could escape the watery depths of God’s grief and disgust with creation.
And then there was nothing. Nothing and no one but Noah and the people and things on his boat.
But there WAS Noah and his goodness and God’s plan to begin again. Begin fresh. And through Noah’s obedience, God would once again look at all that he had made and declare “It is good”.
Noah must have felt alone in doing good, and some days you will too. Some days and in some situations you will feel so very alone in doing the right things. It will feel like the whole world is mocking you because of your goodness…do good anyway. Do good anyway because God is using you to bring hope and light to the dark places. You are the Noahs of your schools, your homes, and your teams. Your goodness will not come back to you empty. Instead, God will use it, use you, to point the way for others to God’s ultimate, saving, goodness …to Jesus.
Discussion Questions:
1. How do you think it felt to be Noah’s family, the only Godly people a dark, dark, world?
2. Do you ever feel alone in doing the right thing? Is that good or bad or maybe both? How can we help one another not to feel along in doing good?
3. Think back over your day. Did you use your words and time to carry darkness or light to the world? Take time to pray a prayer for courage to do the right thing and for forgiveness for those choices that we make that break God’s heart.
Family Activity: Decorate the ornament for day 4. As a family, make a Noah jar. It can be an actual jar or even a cup. Every day, talk about ways you have been obedient to God. For every person’s act of obedience, add change to your Noah jar. When your jar is full, bring your change to church and give it to the missions offering so that missionaries might carry the message of God’s love and goodness to a dark world.
Prayer for the World: Pray for the salvation and livelihood of “Mr. Watson” and his family, a middle school teacher and elected community leader. Josh and Betty recently spent five nights in his home.
No comments:
Post a Comment