God’s grace like rain came down on the parched New Mexico desert in October. What a wonderful reminder of the mercy and kindness of the Lord. Gone are the forest fires which plagued our state this past summer. There is water again in the stretches of the Rio Grande that had gone dry (Ezekiel 34:26). Our society is increasingly unfriendly towards God and Christianity. Rain reminds us that God indeed “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)
With the exception of the Flood, rain symbolizes the loving care of our heavenly Father. Drought symbolizes his anger. The necessity of rain for crops made drought one of God’s chief methods to gain people’s attention when they strayed.
Grace like Rain to a Few in the Days of Noah
It’s possible that rain had never fallen on the earth up until Noah’s Flood. (Genesis 2:5-6) If so, man’s first experience with rain wasn’t a good one. No wonder people thought it was crazy for Noah to build a huge ship in the desert.
When foretelling his Second Coming, Jesus referred to the wickedness in the days before the Flood. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26)
Genesis 6:5-6 tells us, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” God regretted making human beings. What a sad statement! Doesn’t that describe our society today? Most people are concerned with everything but Jesus.
Noah stands as an example to every follower of Christ. He chose to be different in a world so evil that God regretted creating mankind. God only considered eight people righteous enough to save from the flood waters.
Grace like Rain—Needed in Our Day
We have little explanation of the evil in that day. However, scientists postulate there were anywhere from 4-750 billion people on earth at the time of Noah’s Flood. It’s not hard to imagine that sin before the Flood was similar to our day. The crime, drugs, murder, sex trafficking, and immorality in our society is growing at an astounding rate. Human trafficking increased exponentially during COVID. No one knows the true numbers due to the hidden nature of the crime. But God hates sin. When our society normalizes behaviors God calls sinful, it is certain that he will judge the earth. God will only be patient for so long.
But we still have hope. Rain reminds us that there is still time to repent and receive Jesus Christ. In 1 Kings 8:35-36, Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple reads, “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.”
Pray for Grace in the Midst of Evil Days
What an appropriate prayer for our day, that God would teach people the right way to live. Lost and hurting people fill our world. We must be alert to opportunities for sharing the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. In Matthew 15:19, Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” These sins run rampant in our world, and people trapped in desperate lives need Jesus.
Noah’s Flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah reveal God’s wrath poured out on a sinful world. In Matthew 24:42-44, Jesus said his return would be accompanied by judgment: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Be ready. Each of us must examine our own relationship with the Lord, in whom we place our hope. Share his love with others whenever the opportunity arises.
The prophet Jeremiah said, “Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.”
Norma,
Thank you for this timely reminder to pray- it grieves me to hear human trafficking increased during the pandemic. As you said, God has been patient. How much longer will his judgement tarry.