August 17 - the rain came

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains” - James 5:7 ESV

The old man was a dabhand at a bit of woodwork. A farmer, he was used to turning his hand to any task presented to him. Married and father to three married sons, he had instilled the same work ethic, and love of carpentry, into them also. I often wonder if they were all so keen, but they were obedient to their father's wishes and learned the trade.

Loved and respected in the community, the old man was also regarded as more than a bit eccentric – especially when he told them that God had had a word with him and told him to build a huge boat. I imagine the only boats they would ever have seen would have been the small fishing boats that trawled the coast in an effort to bring in the 'catch of the day'....but a boat larger than our largest container ships of today? Crazy man. They laughed and jeered, day after day, year after year.

To float a boat you need the sea, - they lived inland, and here was this crazy old man and his sons talking about God telling him to get the boat readyfor impending rain. Rain? Rain? What is that? No-one knew. Up to that time an over-night dew cared for watering the earth. Then there was his talk about when it was finished, God telling him to fill the boat with samples of all the animals and creatures on the earth and warning the people to repent while they still had a chance. For 140 years this went on....constructing the ark and prophesying to the people – people who considered it all to be the ramblings of an old man. Day after day he begged men and women to repent and leave their past lives behind them.

THEN IT RAINED!

I was thinking about Noah during our recent heatwave, that seemed to go on forever. Like Noah, many of us prayed for rain to fall, as fires engulfed country after country, taking homes and lives with it. The cry went out to residents from the authorities, to prepare to leave their homes and pasts behind them, and take themselves and loved ones to a place of safety. Thousands listened to the warning and made their way to safety. Others chose to ignore the call and stayed with their earthly possessions, and, as a result, lost everything – including their lives.

THEN IT RAINED! .

As I write this, the media news is broadcasting reports of torrential rain falling in India and Pakistan as the monsoon engulfs the area. Ensuing floods and landslides continue to devastate vast areas of the country. Scenes shown from the area are heartbreaking as hillsides collapse engulfing vast areas of land. Entire rows of houses have been swept away. Many dead, many trapped, and many rescued, along with some eight hundred thousand homeless Some heeded the warning signs – other's didn't.

AND, IT KEEPS ON RAINING.

What about us? Are we alert to the warnings? The whole world is caught in a vortex, spiralling it's downward way to destruction. God never intended the world to be like it is – disaster, sorrow, grief, pain, loss, and violence.... If only the inhabitants of the earth had heeded the warnings.... but the Bible says that “as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” - Matthew 24:37-39

At risk of being labeled crazy, are we passing on this message to others to, put their past behind them, and give their hearts and lives to God while there is still time? Or, are we fence-sitter's as many were in Noah's day? Don't let us be deceived. The rain will come. On Christ's return, will that time find us eagerly looking forward to an eternal, new, trouble-free world? Or crying with those who chose to ignore the warnings, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” Jeremiah 8:20

Today's music is – “Please Forgive Me” sung by Michael English (Live)