This portion of the Old Testament has always been a very difficult aspect of Biblical Faith for me personally to fully comprehend. All right, I will just have to confess, my faith has never been able to accept the story as it is written. There just is too much of the story that speaks of God seeking revenge for the lack of human love and obedience. Which does not correspond at all with the God who, out of His divine love for the world, suffered and died on the Cross for our sins of disobedience.

The flood story we read in Genesis 6 – 8 would make a good script for our modern popular T. V. Genesis tells us of all the destruction and suffering for a people who live only in self-centeredness and not obedience. If you will, let us take another look at this familiar biblical story. Can we say that the focus of the story needs not be on the flood, but upon the agony of God, which led to our Father’s sorrow and change of heart?

Certainly, even if we find it very difficult to accept, it needs to be said that the story affirms it was humankind that refused to be obedient. It was humankind that refused to be open and loving, and not our loving, forgiving Creator. By reading our text, it becomes rather obvious that it was the creation that refused to be God’s creation that led to a complete wipe out. It is this that explains the fracture between Creator and creation. Our lesson, in my mind, is for us to learn that if we continue to live in disobedience to God’s Will and purpose, it will lead to our own destruction. We, like the people of old, will truly suffer from our broken relationship with our Creator God.

Prayer

Our Heavenly Creator, help each of us to learn even more of Your Ways that they may become our ways. Living in Your Ways may our love become a love for all of life given to enjoy. In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.