January 3

Genesis 6

As I was reading through the account of Noah, I couldn't help but draw a parallel between what was then the ark and is now the Body of Christ. Let's take a moment and picture ourselves waking up one morning and we see our neighbor building an ark on their lawn.  They tell us that God has given them a message that the world has become so corrupt He needs to wipe out all evil by flooding the land and the only way to survive is by getting into the boat he is building. We look up and see not a cloud in the sky, so we might doubt the sanity of our neighbor.  Each year we watch as this ark gets bigger, almost to the size of a football field, certainly with enough room for everyone,  but we still don't see any sign of rain. So we continue to doubt. Yet, our neighbor tells us that God is waiting for more people to repent before he sends the flood. While Noah was building the ark, which took a very long time, he preached, while God patiently waited for sinners to repent. Finally the countdown to flood was over, and even though there were no clouds in the sky while the ark was under construction, God sent the rain in His perfect time. The safety of the ark sheltered only those who, by faith, believed the message.  Believing the message now is even more crucial.  God will send His Son once again to wipe out the evil that has been created in this world.  Our only safety is belonging to the Body of Christ and claiming Jesus Lord of our lives. Everything in time is relevant and I'm not sure that any of us have room to build an ark the size of a football field on our lawn, but we do all know someone who needs to hear the message. Perhaps others thought Noah was a bit strange by building the ark with no clouds in the sky, but God had given him an assignment and he remained obedient. I pray that as we go into 2018 and we learn to listen for God's whisper, we are as bold as Noah to show our faith.

Randi