January 16

Noah

                Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.   And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth.  Make yourself an ark of cypress wood…For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.  But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.  And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.  Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive.  Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.”  Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 6:11-22

            Not very long into the story, things have gone horribly wrong.  Mankind was kicked out of the Garden.  The first murder occurred.  The first weapons were created and sold.  The first wars were fought.  It is chapter 6 and depravity and violence filled the earth and God determined to hit the reset button.  In all the earth there was one man, one family, that found favor in God’s sight:  Noah.

            Noah was already an old man, given a massive job and surrounded by a world that was at odds with him.  Would I invest 50 years of my life pursuing something that society said was crazy?  As I think about it…of course I would.  Because it touches on the two things that I hold most dear:  Faith and family.  God gave Noah clear instructions, designed to the inch, on how to build the ark.  And He said that if Noah were to follow His directions, Noah would be able to save his family and redeem the world.  If that offer were given to me, I would give my very best effort.  What could be more worth investing your life into?

            As I look at our world, I am struck by the similarities.  The world is filled with violence and corruption.  Depravity and injustice are oppressive clouds that hang over the Earth.  And I am just one man.  One man who is not even very good at building community.  I have a family that requires more attention and resource than most.  I can barely find the time and energy to go vote, much less spearhead any projects that could change the world.  What can one tired man do in the face of our world?

            One of the great temptations of being a parent of a child with special needs is to circle the wagons.  Life is chaotic enough that we don’t want extra burdens so we retreat from the news and challenging relationships.  We may poke our heads out to fight for our causes, but mostly we tend to avoid politics and public debate.  Internally it is incredibly tempting to stop listening for God’s invitation.  We have our children to take care of…isn’t that a high enough call?

            At its core, the story of Noah invites us to listen.  Listen to God because if and when He calls us into something, it will be remarkable.  Will God invite you to build an ark?  Probably not.  But He could invite you into something just as crazy.  Something that will take years of investment.  Something that your neighbors will call craziness.  Something that will save your family and redeem the world.

            It seems worth it to listen for that call.

A moment to reflect:

Take a few minutes to listen today.  Does Jesus have an invitation for you?  Big or small, it does not matter.  What He calls us into, He equips us for.  Just listen.

Refrigerator Art of the Day:

D age 11