Deep Water

The deepest the world would ever know. Completely engulfed inside a wooden vessel with only one small window out. A smell that would choke anyone. Every animal known to mankind housed within the vessel with him. The barking, growling, chirping, bleating, and braying. The fear of the unknown. How long? How far from home would he be? Will it end? Oh, and the screams of terror from the day it all began still ringing in his ears. The same voices that once ridiculed him. 

The rocking. The claustrophobia. The smell. The sounds. The doubt. The fear. The memory of the screams. The years of persecution weighing heavy on his mind. Maybe you can imagine all those things as you read. Maybe you don’t want to imagine. Noah’s story has been cleaned up and filtered for teaching it to the little children. A lovely story of the salvation of all the animals. A beautiful story of hope. It is, in fact, a beautiful story of hope, redemption, and salvation. But all of those things came at a terrible price for one man. 

Noah endured ridicule and scorn. He watched his friends and most of his family stand by laughing as the boat was shut. He probably heard their cries until there was no breath left in their lungs. He patiently waited for the boat to find a resting place as he cared for the only living land creatures that would survive the heavenly onslaught of water that cleansed the earth of wickedness. 

I cannot imagine what Noah endured for the salvation of mankind thousands of years ago. Noah, in many ways is a picture of another man. A man that endured ridicule and shame. A man that heard the cries of dying men saying “he saved others but he cannot save himself.” He too, knew that the heavenly onslaught of justice must be rained down on Him so that the earth could be cleansed of its wickedness. And he endured. 

Christ endured so all of us could be on the soul saving fellow-ship with him. It is not too late to get on the boat. It is not too late until the last breath is in your lungs. Don’t keep drowning in a world of sin and death. There is hope in the fellow-ship with Christ Jesus. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). 

“But it’s too hard! I’m not sure I can handle the persecution. I’m not sure I can handle the fear, the doubt, and the knowledge that others will be lost. That’s a heavy burden.” 

Yes, it is. Noah and Jesus understand just how heavy a burden it can be. Peter gives us Jesus’ secret. As Jesus suffered He “kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). That is the key to enduring. That is the key to making it through the difficult days of fear and doubt and frustration. 

Get on the boat. In an odd turn of events, Peter compares the entrance to Jesus’ “boat” to the water that saved the world in the days of Noah. “Corresponding to that (the flood of Noah) baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:21). Entrust yourself to God. 

Ben