Each evening, I watch the national news on one of the 3 major networks. The pattern for the news broadcast is the same each night. Most of the broadcast is filled with dark and ominous news until you get to the last story. The last story is usually a feel-good story about an everyday person who is making a positive difference in the world. It’s a story meant to contrast all the negative stories that preceded it.
Genesis chapter 6 paints a dark picture of the growing corruption of the day. You read words like: “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5) – “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.” (Gen. 6:11) – “all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.” (Gen. 6:12)
But there was a man named Noah who stood in contrast to the world around him. In the midst of all the darkness and corruption, Noah is described as righteous and blameless. He is someone who walked with God and did all that God commanded. Because Noah stood in contrast to the world around him, he found favor in God’s eyes and was used to rescue creation itself.
Do you and I stand out in contrast to the world around us, or do we blend into the landscape? Is there a distinct difference between us and the world at large? As followers of Christ, we’ve been given the same covenant and commission as Noah…stand in contrast to the world and be instrumental in its salvation.
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.