I have something new to add to my list of “must see” places. Ed and I have marked quite a lot off our bucket list, and we even managed several in one trip. Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Devil’s Tower. Spectacular trip. Now I’ve decided that one of our adventures must be to the Ark Encounter.
In case you’ve never heard of it, it’s a replica of the ark, located in Kentucky. From what I’ve read, it’s pretty spectacular. Took a long time to build and they tried to make it as accurate as possible. I suppose that could be handy if we have another flood, but I’m positive that won’t happen since I regularly see rainbows. Good thing, because it means we won’t have to rush right over there to visit it.
Seeing all the commercials for the ark made me reflect on what Noah must have gone through. I imagine he did a lot of sitting around with his head in his hands wondering if he’d gone insane. Think about it. There’s a guy with a huge boat in his back yard, probably violating some homeowner’s association rule, and his neighbors are having a jolly time making fun of him. I would also imagine he got the “You’re building a what?” lecture from his wife. It couldn’t have been easy.
Once it was done, though, the real fun started. He had to load the animals. Not only did he need a big variety, but he needed males and females. If not, then the whole thing was pointless. Hmmmm. Maybe that’s what happened to the unicorns. Maybe there were two males on board. That would certainly explain things.
Luckily, Noah only had to build the ark and not procure the animals. God’s instructions were for Noah to build the ark and the animals would come to him. Good thing, or we’d still be waiting for him to gather up everything he needed. And, I have no idea how to tell if a snake is male or female, and he probably didn’t either. Some would be easy to load, like a male and female rabbit, but they presented their own problem. He probably kept them in separate cages, or by the end of the journey he’d be overrun with rabbits. If you own cats, you know how hard it is to get them into a pet carrier to take them to the vet. Unless Noah was able to tranquilize the lions, getting them into the ark must have been something to see. Maybe he passed that chore off to one of his kids. I know I would have. Some people theorize that God sent young animals, which allowed Noah to maximize the space. Another good thing, because two mature elephants would probably tilt the boat, and it wouldn’t be very seaworthy.
No matter how it happened, I would have loved to be sitting there observing the process. I wonder if the neighbors grabbed a beer and a lawn chair to watch the spectacle. Probably back then it was wine, and they sat on the ground, but you get the idea. Picture this: There’s a humongous boat in Noah’s back yard, animals are showing up in pairs waiting to board said boat, and the neighbors are talking amongst themselves about what a fool Noah is. Too bad YouTube wasn’t around then. Pretty sure the clip would have gone viral.
So why did Noah put himself through all that? Was it just to ensure the safety of his family? Probably not, but I’m sure that was a factor. No, he was doing what God told him to do, even though I’d bet money he didn’t want to. There had to be more than one occasion where he wondered if he’d only imagined that God talked to him and told him to build an ark.
As Christians in today’s world, we’re facing our own challenges. Granted, I don’t think many of us are building an ark in our back yard, but it’s not always easy. One of the bigger problems seem to be that some people think the Bible is outdated and not pertinent to today’s world. They think we should update our beliefs to reflect what’s happening in the world today. In other words, we should adapt to the world instead of the world adapting to the Bible.
What if Noah had done that? What if he’d listened to everyone telling him he was crazy and stopped building the ark? For one thing, we wouldn’t be here. Even if we were, we probably wouldn’t enjoy it, because there wouldn’t be any kitty babies to pet, horses to ride, bunnies to bring Easter eggs, or elephants to admire.
The same people who think the Bible is outdated think the constitution is a living, breathing document and it should also change with the times. They’re wrong on both counts, and I have a better idea. Let’s go back to believing God knew what He was doing when He gave us our instruction manual and try to live our lives like the Bible instructs. Let’s have America go back to what our forefathers imagined when they wrote the constitution and stop trying to read stuff into it that isn’t there. Imagine how glorious our nation would actually be.
God got pretty mad at what the world had become and thoroughly disgusted with mankind. Not hard to imagine why, if it was as bad back then as it is now. He found one Godly man to save the animals and repopulate the world. One man. Out of all those people, there was only one worth saving. Scary thought.
I sometimes wonder what God thinks when he looks down on us now. When some states think it’s perfectly okay to kill a baby after they’re born, and the number of people applaud that decision. When a nativity can’t go on a public square because it might offend someone. When Christians are beheaded simply for believing. When a company can be demonized for contributing to Christian causes, even if those causes help Christians and non-Christians alike. When Christian standards of morality differ from the world’s and we’re accused of being intolerant.
We don’t have to do what Noah did, build an ark to save the world, but we should be doing what we can to bring God back into our world. Is it easy doing what’s right? Not always, but nobody ever said life was going to be easy. But like Noah, we have assurance of one thing. Do what’s right, what God wants us to, and He has our back. Even if our neighbors do make fun of us.