When silence isn’t an option

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.

 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 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.”

— Genesis 6:5-7, NLT

It’s not a stretch to imagine the Lord being heartbroken. And that’s putting it mildly. Heaven is a place where there are no tears, but the Lord is on earth, too. He’s with us.

The Lord is mad here in Genesis 6. He may sound spiteful, even bitter, but this is only because love lost. I believe the Lord is sorry (understatement!) that love lost.

But the story of Noah doesn’t end here. The story of Noah begins here.

There’s a piece of Noah within each of us. Okay, we may not be called to build an ark, but as the Lord called Noah, the Lord is calling us. Specifically, the Rain and Wave Maker is calling us to respond with action and justice to the mess, muck and yuck in the world. Let’s not be sorry, as the Lord is here. Let’s be in service, as the Lord wants us to be.

The Lord rants in these verses to show us that when things aren’t going right, silence isn’t an option. We don’t have to stomp our feet or get really loud. Instead, we can be like Noah. As the ark was built far from the sea, we can see, even if it’s just a glimpse, the world we can float with, not sink.

PRAYER: Lord, continue to model for us the passion You have to eradicate evil through our acts of love, justice, mercy and hope. It is in Your name that we serve. Amen.