“Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8).
In what is one of the most fascinating accounts in all of Scripture, Noah and his family were the sole survivors of the great deluge.
But even more amazing than their physical survival through the flood, is their spiritual survival before the flood. In the middle of such pervasive godlessness, they were the soul survivors.
Can you imagine what it must have been like to be the only Christian family living in a society which wanted nothing to do with God? Can you imagine how tough it must have been to keep the family spiritually and morally afloat?
Well, we really don’t have to stretch our imaginations too far, do we? In many ways our society is a mirror image of Noah’s. Do we not live in a time when sin and evil are accepted and defended as being good (for example, homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex etc.)? Is not ours the day when the ten commandments have been referred to as the ten suggestions? Isn’t ours the generation which, with no shame, daily watches countless acts of violence and sex on the television?
In the midst of this sea of corruption, how can we stay afloat as God-fearing families? How can today’s Christian family keep from sinking? Well, how did Noah and his family keep from being absorbed into the godless society of the pre-flood world? What was their secret?
The Secret Of Noah’s Family
You’ve heard the expression: “There but for the grace of God go I!” That expression certainly applies to Noah and family. The eight people aboard the ark were no better than the millions who were drowned by the waters of the great flood. They were sinful and deserving of God’s punishment just like everyone else. Genesis 9:20-23 relates an ugly episode in Noah’s family history which shows how true this is. It tells how Noah got drunk, and how his son Ham took delight in showing his two brothers their naked and intoxicated father.
God’s grace was the liferaft which rescued this sinful family from drowning in its sin. The Holy Spirit brought it to believe in the first Gospel promise. He led it to trust in the Seed of the Woman, Who would one day appear on earth, crush Satan’s power, and win forgiveness and eternal life for all people. If not for God’s grace, that ancient Christian family would have sunk into unbelief and damnation along with everyone else.
When we see how the world can eat away at our own family’s Scripture-based values; when we see how Satan so easily causes our family to drift toward attitudes and actions which are displeasing to our Lord; when we see how the flesh can get the priorities of even Christian families all messed up–then we know how much our own family desperately needs the grace of God.
Let Christian families everywhere return to the grace of God! Let them confess their sins before their Maker. Let them be refreshed by the healing mercy of the Savior. Let them return to their daily devotions so that, with the Word, the Holy Spirit may renew and reshape their way of thinking and living.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ — which God freely gives through His Word and sacraments — is the only thing which can keep the family ship pointed toward the shores of life eternal.
If it’s true that today’s world is a mirror image of the pre-flood world, it’s even more true that God’s grace is the Christian family’s sure and only hope for soul survival!
–Pastor Michael Wilke