Genesis 6:11-22, 9:20-27
The flux capacitor was an absolutely absurd idea. Doc Brown literally fell off the toilet and came up with it? How is the 1.21 GW of electricity supposed to pass through it and create time travel? How could one box of flashing light the size of a book handle all that power…in the 80s? To most people, Doc Brown looked like a crazy crackpot scientist, but his ideas worked (in the movies, at least)! I wonder if people looked at Noah the same way they did at Doc Brown. The flood was a crazy story – one guy building a giant boat, managing all those animals, keeping everyone safe and everything alive. And how long did it take to build? I can only imagine how people must have looked at him during the construction.
It had to look insane if you think about it. Christian scholars have accepted that the idea of Pangea, the super continent, as a valid theory that fits within scripture. If so, then the land on which Noah lived would have been who knows how far from water, making the building of the ark look incredibly foolish. Salvation is found, though, in a place where knowledge can’t reach – faith. How absurd is it that this gigantic, continent-altering flood whispers of a declaration we make today to signify our trust in God’s salvation; something that also looks odd to many people: baptism. There are some (potentially odd) things that we have to accept if we are going to be rescued.
The Wages of Sin is Death
The first problem is accepting the responsibility that we did anything wrong. Talk about absurd! FL is a no-fault state. That means if a car gets hit from behind that car is automatically not at fault. It amazes me that we have to set laws for people to accept blame. We all understand it; it’s a part of us, our culture. But whether we see it or not, if we do something wrong, we are responsible. Sin works exactly the same way. God told Adam and Eve that sin had a cost – death. Noah was given a real world example of the wages for our sin. But for anyone to get on that boat, the first thing they had to realize is that they did something to cause its existence. Then they would have to go on the ride of their lives!
Christians Die to Live
Let’s not spend too much time imagining what the experience must have been like during 5+ months on the Ark – the smell, the noise… that ride seems so insane that it’s difficult to even comprehend. The Ark foreshadowed the journey of baptism, a tradition that seems a bit odd itself – getting dunked in a pool as a faith rite of passage? That can be an odd thing to watch if you don’t understand what’s happening. Talk about not understanding—the Romans, during the ancient church period, had a problem with communion – they thought Christians gathering to celebrate Jesus in love meant they were having cannibalistic love fests! Everything the early Christians did looked crazy and foolish! But faith is action driven by trust. in baptism, we journey through water as a way of connecting to Christ’s death. Coming up out of the water symbolizes rebirth of a new life in Christ. They journey of the ark through the flood waters (filled with death of all kinds) finalized with the realizing of the dove and the olive branch it found connects the journey of the ark to the journey we take in faith with baptism. Christians are called to willingly stand apart from the world, which will, at times, make us look odd.
Christians Aren’t Perfect
It can be easy in this story to look to Noah as a Christ-like figure; after all, he embarked on a heroic 75+ year journey to build that boat on his own. That itself is a supernatural feat – not to mention the miraculous survival of the animals (credit to God), but then we are slapped by this story ending out of nowhere. Consider Genesis 9:20-27. Even after being saved through the flood, he goes right back to sinning! His journey after the flood shows that even after salvation, life is a journey with choices and sin is still crouching at our door. Just like Christian from Pilgrim’s Progress, he is us, flawed and broken, even after being saved. The new life we receive in salvation is not a full removal of sin or the ability to sin—that won’t happen until death—but it does give us the power to choose better. We can say no to sin and live the way Christ teaches.
Next Steps
Salvation is free, but faith in a wooden cross, Roman execution and empty tomb can be hard for some to believe, like a giant wooden boat getting built on Pangea. People may look at you cross-eyed when you share your faith, yet eternal life is found where knowledge can’t go – the realm of faith. Will you step out of “normalcy” and into life?
- Discuss with friends the brokenness of the world and consider what part you’ve played in that brokenness. Accept responsibility and God’s gift.
- Live your faith publicly. God wants Christians to be seen and watched – that’s the idea in Matt 5:16.
- Compare yourself to Noah. How easy is it for you, as a believer, to let sin back in your heart? Get an accountability partner and guard each other’s growth in Christ.
To those who don’t believe, a crucified savior is folly. What makes sense to them is a faith that requires them to appease God. Only when they see the absurdity of life in us can they experience God’s love through us. Are you willing to look weird for Jesus?
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