June 2, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled.” (Genesis 6.5-6)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

The story of humanity as it leads up to the consequence of the Flood is not presented in a good light. Honestly, what good is there in those whose hearts were filled with evil all the time? The story of Noah and the Flood raises all kinds of questions about God, God’s people and those that are the people of God. How can a God of such goodness and wonder execute such judgment as to wipe out entire cultures and civilizations? On the one hand, we understand the need for consequences for such behavior of evil people and beings. We have battled with what to do with such evil in our world in all of its manifestations. The reality of evil exists in all of us to certain degrees. For some of us, this reality has an ugly hold and the battle for the heart, mind and soul is great, if not overwhelming. It is what happens when the balance of life in one’s heart, mind, body and soul is so skewed that darkness seems greater than the light. Such a darkness had spread over all of creation. The story of Noah speaks to the darkness in such an increasing way that it would seem it is a flood. It is a flood of vile contempt so great that the consequences to combat it would have to be as great. And it was.

We read in today’s verses that God regretted He had ever created humankind. Was God confessing fault in His own work? Does this mean that God had “faults”? Is the sense of justice so strong that the punishment to the magnitude of a global flood to eliminate all life is justified? Does the end justify the mean? We will hear of another story when judgment will rain down from heaven like fire to consume those whose passions of the flesh are so great and perverse that they would consider reducing spiritual beings into sexual objects. I dare not judge God without considering the brokenness in my own heart, mind and soul and see that I am deserving of so great a punishment. As should we all? There is a darkness in each of us which left unbridled can serve no good end for anyone. It must be addressed or else life as we know it for the good that is in us shall be lost forever to us. I will not attempt to presume that I know better than God. Such ideas are foolish speculation and only give room for a greater sin which consumed Lucifer in heaven and caused him to be cast out of heaven. He was fueled by his passion for self. He must have fashioned such a hatred for God, calling it a love for self, to believe that he could undo God by corrupting the whole of creation. It is the overwhelming love for self which is the root of sin. Does God have the right to execute such justice? I suppose He does. It is His creation that He is judging. The magnitude of His actions did not stop the problem. The problem exists not in externals but internal. Are we filled with such regret in ourselves for the wrongs that we have done and have created? I know that I am. I am like the Apostle Paul who declared, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” (Romans 7.19-20) Is there that tipping point in our own lives where the power of sin does consume the reality of righteousness? We can try to overwhelm it with a flood of things. We can try to destroy it or ourselves but in the process of doing so who else gets destroyed? The rippling effect is overwhelming. The only One who can truly stop it is God.

So, it is with our confession and realization that we cannot overcome the evil in our lives to whatever degree that we address the problem. It exists in each one of us. We can blame it on Adam and Eve. We can blame it on God. We can blame it on Satan. But, until we accept the responsibility for our own wrong which we have done against ourselves, others and God, then there is no hope. We do have a hope, however, for a newness in life. That hope comes in seeing how much God has loved us that He would save us from our sins with His own Son who laid down His life. It is a hard thing to understand such a love as this. Yet, many of us would lay down our lives for others to save them from something terrible. But, the only way we can save them from Hell and the life of eternal sin is to die to self and live for Christ. We have to make the continual conscious effort to do what is right and good. Jesus is the model of it and I, for one, have fallen short of it too many times. I see what measures can be taken to eliminate the presence of evil in the world: floods, wind, fire, wars, rumors of wars and the list goes on. I do not want the responsibility for those. What I want is to be at peace in my heart, mind and soul. I want a flood of God’s pure love to wash out the bad and fill it with His Holy Spirit. I want it not just as a spark of life. I want the whole of such a life. In this world that does not mean I am immune to the wrong that is at work on a daily basis. Evil is all around. It is a fire that consumes life in this world but it is a torture to the heart, mind and soul. There is a great fire, however, and it is one that purifies. Did the world have that opportunity in the days leading up to Noah and the Flood? I do not know. I don’t read it there. I do read it in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a reminder that darkness cannot overcome the light. Righteousness is the only path to the peace we seek, the freedom that restores hope and the love that puts evil to rest in its place far from us. Jesus is that light. He is the way, the truth and the life which leads to what our souls truly desire. The question is, at least for me, is that what I truly desire? It is. I have no other means of grasping it than to ask again to be the Lord of my life. I don’t want to drown in sin. I don’t want to be consumed by the unbridled fire of passion for my own self. I want to be whole again and at peace in every part of my life. I want to be remade, restored and reconciled.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.