Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Do you live in the “real world”? Well, that depends on what is meant by the “real world.” We could be talking about the “real world” as opposed to a world of make believe, or we could mean it in another sense. A lot of times, people will leave the Ranch after a week of camp carrying with them a little apprehension about the world to which they are returning. They are returning to a world of work, challenges, problems, and temptations. They don’t want to go back to the “real world.”
A lot of times those people have this idea that if they could just stay at a place like the Ranch their life would be better or easier. They forget that things are not perfect on the Ranch or anywhere else on this planet!
Sometimes people think, “Well, Rice, some of us have to live in the ‘real world.’” I understand that sentiment. I do think we can all be a bit naïve about what is going on in the lives of everyone else, but Noah is a good example and word of encouragement for anyone, regardless of what your world may look like today.
Genesis 6:1 says, “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply…” To cut to the chase, what happened was that “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This was a world given over almost completely to rebellion against God. Now, there were not as many people living on the earth in Noah’s day, but he was even more outnumbered than you or I would be.
There was only one man who was doing what was right, and we read of him in verse 8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Despite all the wickedness going on in the world, Noah found grace in God’s eyes. Verse 9 says, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” Here is a man who against all odds, against the raging current of his day and the entire world, walked with God and found grace. If Noah could, we should.
If you could do right on your own you wouldn’t need grace, but you need grace precisely because you do live in the “real world.” The “real world” is the one into which God has placed you. God wouldn’t have you live in any other kind. God doesn’t want us to fortress up and bunker down. God wants us to be salt and light where we are and when we are. Do what is right here and now, and God’s grace is available to help you do that.
Don’t siphon energy wishing for another time or another place, and don’t live in envy of other people who in your perception have a better, quieter, more protected, or more ideal world. No, live in grace. God’s grace is better than your goodness. We live in a wicked world, but we have a holy God Who gives us everything we need to live the way we should live. Trust that grace today.