On Sunday, the churchwide topic to be taught in our Life Groups was “unbridled wickedness”. Mr. Non-Confrontational, meaning me, usually does not enjoy in your face, negative topics. As I thought about it, I recognized that it was a very appropriate topic. The text was Genesis 6 that dealt with the depth of darkness in people prior to the flood of Noah. “5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 Then the Lord said, ‘I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.’” This was a dark, dark time.
At first glance, the Lord’s reaction seems to be really harsh. However, when you look carefully at the depth of the darkness in the people, His righteous, just perspective comes clear:
- “The Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.” The heart of these folks had become so hard there was no room for repentance. They had become unyielding passed the ability to change. God created mankind in order to have a being with whom He could build a relationship and have fellowship but realized these folks had moved beyond the point of no return. In Matthew 12:31, Jesus declares, “And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” The people had gotten past the stage of forgiveness. The just, righteous, purposeful thing to do was make a change on planet earth. Individuals had become flat out nasty to the core. God could no longer tolerate this.
- NEWS FLASH…This is a God-centric universe not man-centric. The earth is a speck on the elephant’s backside relative to the universe. Yet, we think we are the center of the whole thing. God the Creator is at the center not you the created! I am so glad He is. Among His many attributes, He is holy, righteous, immutable, all powerful, all knowing, ever present, just, merciful, full of grace, and love.
Today, it is obvious that we are pulling away from God at a rapid pace. Look at the lack of civility, the rudeness, the murdering, the stealing, the abuse towards one another, the callousness, the harshness, the sexual promiscuity, sex trafficking, rape, idolatry, witchcraft, addictions, etc. And of all things, there is an attack on the Biblical family structure, the building block of a healthy society and the first institution created by God for man. Even worse, we have taken the right to live away from the most vulnerable, the unborn. We are moving quickly towards the days of Noah… “every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.”
It’s getting dark outside. Per the days of Noah, the Lord will not tolerate this mess much longer. Maranatha! Lord, come quickly!
Barnabas Man 