Focus

Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.

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Read

Genesis 6:1-10 (NRSV)

When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the LORD said, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

The LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the sight of the LORD.

These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

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Reflect

One way we show growth in faith is through our ability to have sympathy for God. The gospel speaks clearly about God’s sympathy for us in sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Seeing our inability to save ourselves, God had compassion and moved to forgive us. When we know that God can be trusted and has our best interests at heart, then what God thinks and feels become more important to us.

The story of the flood gives us a peek into God’s heart. We see that sorrow and disappointment drove God toward the decision to wipe the slate clean. Things on earth had not turned out as God hoped. Wickedness had reached so far and gone so deep that God’s heart was broken. The story gives us a chance not only to fear the repercussions of human rebellion, but to feel for God, whose dreams for a whole and healthy world were dashed.

I don’t want to grieve God’s heart, and I bet you don’t want to, either. We’re not just worried about the consequences that will follow. It hurts to think that we hurt God. When our motivation to be faithful, loving, kind, and good grows from this sympathy rather than the mere fear of punishment, we are growing in our faith.

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Pray

Dear God, you have made yourself vulnerable in your love for us. Thank you. Help us to honor your investment with lives that bring you joy. Amen.

Go with God.