Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am currently working my way through the book of Genesis using a devotional book I had forgotten I had pre-ordered. It involves reading a chapter each day followed by two or three questions. Today, it was chapter nine. The water has resided, Noah has let the animals out of the ark and God has begun to populate the world again. I was struck by a comment made in the book concerning God’s statement, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth.” The editor pointed out that “humanity hasn’t really changed in the story.” He goes on to say that it was God who changed. For many, I suspect the idea that God could change is anathema and yet, that is what happened in the story. God had created the perfect world, Eden, and humanity went its own way. In chapter six we read that God was sorry for what he had created. It was time to wipe it away, end all life. But, and that’s a big but, God changed his mind, “nor will I ever again destroy every living creature.” In Matthew, Jesus says he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mt. 15:24). In Mark, he tells the Syrophoenician woman that “it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” In the end however, Jesus will forgive his own executioners, he will send his disciples to all the people of the world. The meditation ended with a question, “Have you ever felt like God’s love was dependent on you getting everything right?” The answer of course is no, we believe in grace, that gift of God that is unearned and undeserved, and yet how often do we forget that gift, how often do we wallow in our sin forgetting that God loves us always, that God recognizes our humanity and gives us a second chance, even seventy times seven.
Peace,
Bryant+
