Day 2340 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
Genesis 6:5 NIV
Yesterday we talked about how God is good, and about how that's a problem because this world and all of us in it are not. You see, mankind chose to pick our own path over God's and we've never stopped walking away from Him. We've never turned around. Our society is just as twisted, messed up, and broken as it has ever been, maybe even more. And while it seems like we're free to go on doing as we please without consequence or repercussion, that's not going to happen.
I started in Genesis the night before last and it really is incredible how quickly things go downhill for humanity because of humanity. It starts out talking about how God created the heavens and the earth. It talks about all of the things that He created to fill them and how every time that He created something new He saw that it was good. He created all of this to be good. But then we listened to a lie. We chose to hear what we wanted to hear. We chose to ignore God's one rule so that we could do as we wanted to do. And just like that sin had crept in and started doing its evil work in the hearts and minds of mankind.
We all know the next part of the story from Genesis. Sin spread. It took control over almost everyone and caused all of humanity to live in opposition to God and His ways. And eventually, as it tells us in Genesis 6:6, God regretted that He had made man. He saw all of the evil and wickedness that had spread through the hearts and lives of His creation and it made Him regret creating us. He became so sick and tired of seeing all the wickedness in something that He created to be good that He chose to wipe the slate. He hit the reset button. He sent the flood.
I think what we conveniently forget is that God is the same. Yesterday, today, and forever, right? He is still the same God as the one who sent the flood upon this earth. He is the same God who sent the plagues on Egypt. He is the same God who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. He is the same God! And while it's easy for us to ignore the idea of consequences, we can't avoid it forever. We're living in a truly sinful, immoral, and broken world. And if we think that God's just going to let us by with doing as we please and living apart from Him then we're going to be sadly mistaken when once again He's had enough.
In many ways the Bible ends as it begins. It starts with a story about God destroying the sinful and wicked in this place. It ends with the foreshadowing of the end of times and the punishment of the wicked yet again. But in each instance, God saves. He saved Noah because He found him to be righteous. He saved those who held tight to their faith in the end because they trusted God and refused to give in and go along with the evil around them. There is another world-shaking, slate-wiping, reset button kind of destruction coming. But we don't have to on the wrong side of it!
So friends, get on the boat. God will save those few who take refuge in Him and follow His ways instead of the ways of the broken world around us. Look, He does love us. He does offer us forgiveness because He does want to save us from the suffering that's coming. But we can't be a part of the problem and think that He's going to let it slide. The ways of this world will never be good enough. And while we've lived like the world, thanks to Christ we can change and strive to follow Him instead. And that's an opportunity that all of us should take!
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