How We Live Matters

"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith." 

Hebrews 11:7 (NIV)

 How we live matters. That was the topic of discussion In our Life Group on Sunday. The lesson compared the life of Noah with the life of Lot, and it was all about being set apart and the effect it has on our families. Think about it--God asked Noah to prepare for a flood by building an ark. At that time, there had never been rain on the earth. The people of that time knew nothing about rain or floods. No one had even heard of a boat or ark, let alone seen one being built. I can imagine people ridiculing him as if he were out of his mind. Yet Noah was faithful to God, regardless of what people said about him. He was singularly focused on obeying God, no matter what anyone else thought of him. Hebrews 11:7 says that he did this "to deliver his family" and that is exactly what happened--because of his faith, his children chose to enter the ark and were saved from the flood.

Lot, on the other hand, was laying low. He didn't want to draw attention to himself. Instead of standing for God in Sodom and influencing others to live holy lives, he chose to blend in to his community. That wicked city influenced him, rather than the other way around. When Lot warned his family about God's judgement, they acted as if he were joking. His warning carried no weight because he had not lived a godly life before them.

God has given us a message of impending judgement. Jesus is coming back soon. The stakes are too high to live as Lot lived. The Bible says that in the time of Noah, everyone was going about business as usual--just like today. I want my children, family and friends to hear what I have to say and climb aboard the ark.