Genesis 7, 2 John 1

Tuesday, Dec 4, 2007 – Brandon Hatmaker (Genesis 7, 2 John 1)

(Genesis 7)

I’ve always thought that the most awful way to die would be to drown. Whenever I’ve seen it in a movie, it seems to suck me in, and I find myself gasping for breath as I watch. To be honest with you, I find myself short of breath right now just thinking about it. While I imagine it would seem like an eternity, it only takes a moment to drown.

I know it’s a morbid thought. I know many struggle with God’s judgment. I’m having a difficult time writing about it. But the consequence of God flooding the earth was just. But here is a question, why did God need to flood the earth for 150 days? Verse 24 says, “The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.” It certainly did not take that amount of time to accomplish a complete “cleansing” of the earth.

I wonder if it was for Noah. I wonder if, for him and his family, it was a time God was working on them. Imagine being on that boat, in complete isolation, as a result of following God. They were saved and they had 150 days of nothing to do but think about that fact. You couldn’t help but ponder what God had in store next. You couldn’t help but be humbled by the fact that He chose to spare you. You couldn’t help but wonder, “how long is this gonna last?” You couldn’t help but wonder, “Does God know we’re about to run out of food?” Then, once again, he is found faithful.

Hopefully, we would learn, that He already knew all those answers.

So whatever place we are in today, whatever spiritual, emotional, or physical condition, what is God teaching us? What are the questions in our minds and spirits? What have we learned from God’s faithfulness in the past about HIS nature vs MAN’S nature? What can we learn about God today?

Father, thank you for the tough experiences in our lives, that increase our dependency on you. May each struggle and victory as a parent, a child, a husband or wife, an employee or boss, as a man or woman of God draw us closer to you. Help us to continuously see each day as a part of the journey of faith, each day.

(2 John 1)

I absolutely love what John had to say in this first chapter. Verse 5-6 say, “I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”

At first blush, you might say, “Wait a minute, Jesus said in John 13 (and John was the one who wrote it down) that to love one another was a NEW command, then John said it was NOT a new command. What’s the deal?”

When we typically speak about the beginning, our minds go straight to Genesis. We think about the creation of the earth. We think about God creating Adam and Eve. We think about the fall of man and the Journey thereafter in the Old Testament. The thing I love about John is that when he speaks about the beginning, he speaks about Jesus.

John had completely thrown off the past and covenant of old. He truly believed and lived that the beginning of his existence, as well as the churches, began with Jesus. It was new command that Jesus gave, but it was the same “old” command that Jesus gave later, that John gave. The beginning was Jesus. Like John said, “As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”

It’s not just part two. It’s a new life. It’s a new way. It’s a new covenant. It’s a new Spirit.

God, give us the perspective and faith of John. Help us to see the ways of Jesus, life in him, forgiveness through him, and our future with Him as EVERYTHING. May we cast off the ways of old. May we cherish every moment as children of God through the blood of Christ.