she looks different today

Imagine standing in an upstairs room that affords a view over the neighbours garden. Imagine you see him building a boat. So you saunter down to the fence and call him over...

'moving to the seaside?' you say.
'No,' says he, 'it's going to rain, there's going to be a flood.'
'a flood?' you splutter. 'but look at the weather, look at global warming, they'll be making champagne in hampshire before you know it.'
'nah,' he replies, 'it's going to flood'
you wander away. 'mentalist,' you think to yourself.

Imagine being Noah. Building a stinking great boat, all the time having to put up with people aksing why he's doing it, the scoffers, the mocking. All the time trusting that God is going to be true to His word, and not leave him looking like an idiot. And eventually it rains, and God is proved right, and Noah is as well. He kept building, kept trusting and eventually God saved him from His wrath. I've kind of romanticised the flood in my mind a little bit, but next the cross and the exodus surely its one of the biggest judgements of God in the Bible?

Interesting then that Matthew compares the flood and Noah to now and us. No one now knows when the end will come, just that it will. And just as Noah was building the ark as now, people are working and getting married, enjoying life, messing around in the slums for the want of a trip to the beach. Noah stayed faithful in these times. He stayed faithful, he was alert. Some will be unaware of the coming of the Son of Man until He comes and sweeps everything away.

As Noah did, we must stay awake, We must keep calling people to repent and believe the good news, we must keep living and being seen to live for another place. We must keep going and keep trusting no matter how far off the coming of the Lord seems. We must be trusting, anf faithful and persevering in our faith like Noah was. We must stay awake...