Genesis 7
The time for judgment has come! Noah and his family must enter the ark and then trust in
God’s promise if they are to be saved. It was an act of faith in response to God’s
grace just as is our salvation when we accept the forgiveness provided by Christ’s death on the cross. There is another aspect of grace that we
detect in vs 16.
God shuts Noah in
emphasising that God would keep him and his family secure, protected from the
destruction of the flood. Yet the
shutting in also meant that others were shut out and perished. That is an inevitable consequence of Grace. It is a gift freely offered to all and those
of us who respond are kept secure, assured of God’s protection into eternity. But there is the freedom to reject the offer
and perish since God forces no one to accept his offer of salvation. On a more positive note, the ark could not
fit everybody in even if Noah had invited them, but God’s offer of Salvation is
open to ALL and He has given us the task
of making the invitations. How are we
getting on? Do we appreciate the
urgency? Are we sufficiently convinced that
lives lived without Christ are both incomplete now and without hope for
eternity? Reflect on Paul’s challenge to
the Corinthian church (2 Cor 5:20) “We
are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as if God were making his appeal
(invitation) through us” Do our words and actions make the invitation
credible?
(member of the congregation)