From the Pastor's Heart,

​

April 2021                                                                                                                                                                    

During my study for the midweek services, I came across the passage of Scripture in

Matthew 24:37-39 which says: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the

Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying

and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the

flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” As I read

these words of the Lord I thought about the ark and all that took place. It took Noah and his

sons somewhere around 120 years to build the ark from the ground up. While they were

building it, Noah and his sons would have gone to the surrounding area for supplies for

building, as well as for the animals that were to come aboard. I wondered how many times

Noah was asked about the ark and why he was building it. I am sure that in all those years he

shared the need to get on the ark and about the great flood that was going to come, only to be

ridiculed and rejected. Yet he kept on building and I am sure he also kept on preaching about

the coming day of doom.                                                                                                                                               

As I pondered this scene, my thoughts went to the day the job was complete; the animals

were brought aboard and the Lord closed the only door into the ark. That solitary door reminds

us that there is only one way to heaven. What was going through Noah’s mind? Was he

thinking about the people on the other side of the door? Did he hear cries for help? I am sure

that the flood waters came up quite quickly but I wondered if anyone tried to get in.

As I shared my thoughts with a friend and later that evening with the church, I think that

Noah would have had a heavy heart during that time. He and his family were safely in the ark

while everyone else in the world, which included many people he knew, were dying outside in

the storm. There was nothing more he could do; it was out of his hands.                                                  

In many ways we are like Noah: we tell folks about the Lord and the Day of Judgment and

they reject it. When the Lord comes, we will be safe but they won’t. They will be headed to

that second death called hell. However, just like Noah, we must keep on preparing the ark, that

is, sharing the Gospel and praying that those we share the Gospel with will come to know the

Lord as Savior.                                                                                                                                            

My heart gets so heavy when a friend or family member dies and I don’t know for sure

where they are spending eternity. They made the choice either to accept or reject the Lord.

Like Noah there is nothing more we can do once they pass from this life, but I don’t want that

guilty feeling that I didn’t do enough to warn them of the coming doom without Christ.

As Mark 16:15 says: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”                            

God Bless,

PK