Drawn from my archives
Reading the story of Noah, I couldn’t help but notice his dedication to God. In fact, Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”
As a side note, I want to mention that “perfect” in this sense of the word doesn’t mean he was without sin. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
We can assume that Noah was upright and faithful to God in the same way that Job was.
But the thing that really got me thinking about God’s grace was this: If grace is freely given and unmerited, then why didn’t the sinners of that day find grace in God’s sight the same way that Noah did?
“And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” – Genesis 6:7-8
As I started to dig around, I came across a verse in the New Testament that opened my eyes to God’s grace. Paul writes, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10
Those words, “was not in vain,” helped me to understand the difference between Noah and the outsiders of his day. The grace bestowed upon Paul was “not in vain,” but in many cases, it is.
Grace is freely given to all, but some reject God’s grace while others choose to embrace it. Some allow God’s grace to move through them, while others discard His compassion and truth. Even if God had told them to build an ark, they would have scoffed at the idea, in the same way that many today reject the gift of salvation and ridicule His Word.
Noah wasn’t perfect in and of himself. He was upright and just because he allowed the grace of God to penetrate his life, thus changing the way that he lived.
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Tilling the Soil
Read the story of Noah in Genesis 6-7.
Planting Hope
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10, KJV)
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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
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You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife
Looking forward to the study.