In the Eyes of the Lord

“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.” ¹

This text spoke to me today. It made me think of the world and how close we are as a people to the way it was in the beginning. All this time to grow and mature, to learn and to become true followers of the triune God and yet we still fail on so many levels.

Murder. Adultery. Drunkenness. It all still exists.

Hate. Pride. Envy. It all still exists too, perhaps more so than before.

And you know what the worst part is? I can point the finger at myself. I take part. Sure, I haven’t murdered. I haven’t committed adultery. But I’ve been pretty darn drunk. I’ve hated. I’ve been proud. God knows, I’ve envied. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Thinking about all this was sort of depressing.

Then I read the next verse.

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” ²

Noah found favor.

In a world of nothing but evil, Noah was able to separate himself and seek only the Lord. He wasn’t swayed by the desire to belong. He didn’t care about being cool. He didn’t care about how many friends or followers he had. He cared only about God and because so he found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Because so, he lived.

This gives me hope. It’s encouraging. It reminds me that I – like Noah – can be a light amongst the dark. More so, it reminds me to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” ³ If we do, we live. If we don’t, well…you know the rest of the story.

1. Genesis 6:5-7 [↩]
2. Genesis 6:8 [↩]
3. Matthew 6:33 [↩]