(Picture from http://www.turnbacktogod.com/11-things-i-learned-from-noahs-ark/ )So Noah...he lived in a pretty wicked society. So wicked, in fact, that the Lord decided to flood the earth and destroy all of His creations. Must have been pretty bad, though honestly, I sometimes have a hard time imagining something that's worse than what's on the news these days. But that's probably better saved for another time. Besides, in spite of all the bad that's going on now, I see a lot of good in the world too. Even my friends who proclaim themselves heathens are basically good people. Enough of a tangent! The Lord looked favorably on Noah and his family, and told Noah to build an ark out of gopher wood, and taught him how to do so. The ark would save Noah's family, and the animals God had created. Noah must have been a man of great faith. I'm sure there was not a cloud in the sky when he started building, and most, if not all, of the people around him probably offered tempting alternatives to the arduous work of building. I don't think collecting all the animals was a walk in the park either. Can you imagine? It was hard enough to catch my horse in a 5 acre pasture when he didn't want to come, let alone trying to catch something bigger, or faster, or more ferocious without fences.
The Bible is not super specific about whether the rain had started when Noah and his family entered the ark, but it seems to me that it wasn't...another test of Noah's faith. I wonder what the "children of men" did when it started to rain. Did they run to the ark? Knock on the doors? Cry for help? As if building an ark when there was no rain was not test enough, being in the ark and knowing what was happening outside must have been painful. I'm glad I haven't found a modern analogue for this part of the story. God wants all of his children to return to Him-I don't expect to have to close my ark to those around me. I think I'll be able to open the doors wide and invite my friends and family to be saved with me. You all probably know the end of the story. After 40 days and 40 nights of rain, it subsided. Noah waited for the waters to recede, and sent out birds to investigate. Eventually, one did not return, and he knew it was safe to exit the ark. God made a promise to Noah, and to his posterity, that He would never again flood the earth.
So what's the lesson for us? I started wondering this morning what arks I've been asked to build. What things do I do, knowing only by faith that they will eventually save me (and possibly my family, current or future)? I know that I don't like where I am in life-I don't imagine that Noah appreciated the time he spent building the ark when everyone around him went on with their lives oblivious to impending doom. There are a couple of things I can think of that the "natural man" part of me would like to do, but that the rest of me knows I would regret, so I refrain (and I'm glad I have). As for what the big picture of the ark I'm building, or the purpose thereof, I don't really have an answer right now. I hope that if I continue to walk by faith, I'll get an answer like Noah did when the rains finally came, and he knew fully the purpose of his toil. Meanwhile, patience is a virtue that I must need to work on a lot.
To quote Brother Ballio, "When a math teacher wants you to learn something, what does she give you? Problems. When God wants you to learn something, what does He give you? Problems."
