“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6: 8-11).
It has always saddened me to hear people say, especially believers, that they don’t want any children; that they’ll never bring children into such a wicked world. I sat listening to Roger’s message on the enabling power of God’s great grace from Genesis 6, grace at work in the life of Noah in the midst of great wickedness, grace that enabled him to persevere in faith to accomplish the task before him; to obey under great pressure and ridicule; to wait on God to faithfully perform his Word. But as I read down through the passage I was immediately struck with verse 10: “And Noah begat three sons…”. In the midst of a wicked, violent culture, grace enabled Noah to rear a family. And it was grace through faith that moved Noah to “prepare an ark to the saving of his house” (Hebrews 11:7). The rest of the known world was left to experience judgment because of their unbelief, but Noah was able to impact his family for righteousness sake, and see them saved.
I talked with my oldest grandchild this week, my 5-year-old granddaughter. For months her mom and dad have gently answered her questions, led her through Scripture, and prayed for her salvation as they sensed a tenderness, an openness, and an understanding growing in her of her personal need for a Savior. In the quietness of her room one evening, she “talked with Jesus on her bed” and was later able to pray with Daddy, “thank you Jesus for doing what you said you would do when I talked to you” . I was able to share with her how excited I was that she had trusted Jesus as her Savior and encouraged her to keep learning Bible verses and to work hard in school to learn to read so she could read her Bible.
“I will Grammy,” she said.
Yes, this is a wicked world. But God’s grace is still amazing. And it is surely still available for moms and dads determining to raise their children in the “fear and admonition of the Lord”. It is powerful and enabling when they are building that ark of protection around their family to see them saved. Seeing my own sons and their wives now with their own children, nurturing them and teaching them God’s ways, and blessed to know so many other young couples that are doing the same thing, well, it’s hard to describe the feelings of gratitude and joy it brings. Is raising a child hard work?? You bet. Will there be some pain and hurt along the way?? Likely. But oh is it worth it, especially when you know it’s all because of God’s great grace.
Just remember Noah.
