Noah had a drinking problem. Ouch! That statement sounds ludicrous and offensive. When you and I think of Noah, we don’t think of him as the planter of vineyards, nor as a man who would get drunk from the fruit of the vine and pass out naked. Yet, the very last thing we are told about Noah, except how long he lived, is this sad episode.
The great news is that the good of Noah’s life far outweighed the bad and what we remember today is the good.
When we think of Noah, we don’t remember this sin from his life, we remember the years and years of faithful obedience. We think of Noah building an ark in the face of a skeptical world. We aren’t even sure it ever rained before the flood. How crazy did Noah seem, building a boat, yet he did what God asked.
These are the words spoken about Noah in the Bible (Genesis 6 and following): He walked with God. He was blameless in all his ways.
His life and legacy is one of devotion and our memory of him is positive. His legacy is strong and influential.
Certainly because I’ve turned 50, I think of my legacy more and more; that part of me that will be remembered, words that may be inscribed on a tombstone, or spoken at my funeral; attributes or stories my daughters will recall or pass on to my grandchildren.
Legacy is a question mark for me because a chapter of my life is written with the ink of sin and with the pen of selfish actions. I wonder how much this chapter will define the rest of my life. It can’t be undone. It can’t be erased. It won’t be forgotten, but does it define me?
I’m thankful for the many who have written me, or called to express how much previous chapters of my life still bless them and serve as a source of encouragement and help for them. I appreciate those who have reminded me of the large stack of noble chapters (years of my life) and compared them to the very short, but intense shameful years.
I’m thankful that new chapters are already being written about my life, now back on track, walking with Jesus and once again given the humbling privilege of serving God in ministry.
Yet, I wonder, will the smear of those terrible pages be the ones called to mind when others speak about or think about me? Possibly the verdict is still out. And though it grieves me, from time to time, to have those pages tossed back in front of me by skeptics and others (even some Christians) I am steadily coming to grips with the part I can play regarding legacy.
I must embrace and allow my soul to be nourished by the grace of God that has in fact washed all my sins away. I must keep my face turned toward the future and not give time nor attention to my past. I must rejoice in the good, endure through the consequences, stand firm in future temptation and be faithful to the calling now before me.
I can only take the pen of opportunity and the ink of a fresh start with God today and write new pages, new chapters about God’s reclamation of one of His wayward kids….me.
The real story of my life and the legacy that CAN BE is not that I ran away from God, but that He loved me back! The story of my life is not that I blew my chance with God, but that He has given me another chance. The story of my life isn’t that I stopped my journey with God, but that He has given me a fresh start, a re-start on my journey.
If God grants me life, I will write this story faithfully…and more…I will lead a church that proclaims this fascinating message that anyone…everyone can have a fresh start with God.
This Sunday, weekly services begin at Life Change Community Church, at the Calabasas Commons, inside the Edwards theater at 10 a.m.. This Sunday, I will begin a 12 week teaching series: Running Away from God and Coming Back to Him.
I look forward to seeing you. I hope you attend. I hope you embrace the opportunity for a fresh start with God.
The great news is that the good of Noah’s life far outweighed the bad and what we remember today is the good.
When we think of Noah, we don’t remember this sin from his life, we remember the years and years of faithful obedience. We think of Noah building an ark in the face of a skeptical world. We aren’t even sure it ever rained before the flood. How crazy did Noah seem, building a boat, yet he did what God asked.
These are the words spoken about Noah in the Bible (Genesis 6 and following): He walked with God. He was blameless in all his ways.
His life and legacy is one of devotion and our memory of him is positive. His legacy is strong and influential.
Certainly because I’ve turned 50, I think of my legacy more and more; that part of me that will be remembered, words that may be inscribed on a tombstone, or spoken at my funeral; attributes or stories my daughters will recall or pass on to my grandchildren.
Legacy is a question mark for me because a chapter of my life is written with the ink of sin and with the pen of selfish actions. I wonder how much this chapter will define the rest of my life. It can’t be undone. It can’t be erased. It won’t be forgotten, but does it define me?
I’m thankful for the many who have written me, or called to express how much previous chapters of my life still bless them and serve as a source of encouragement and help for them. I appreciate those who have reminded me of the large stack of noble chapters (years of my life) and compared them to the very short, but intense shameful years.
I’m thankful that new chapters are already being written about my life, now back on track, walking with Jesus and once again given the humbling privilege of serving God in ministry.
Yet, I wonder, will the smear of those terrible pages be the ones called to mind when others speak about or think about me? Possibly the verdict is still out. And though it grieves me, from time to time, to have those pages tossed back in front of me by skeptics and others (even some Christians) I am steadily coming to grips with the part I can play regarding legacy.
I must embrace and allow my soul to be nourished by the grace of God that has in fact washed all my sins away. I must keep my face turned toward the future and not give time nor attention to my past. I must rejoice in the good, endure through the consequences, stand firm in future temptation and be faithful to the calling now before me.
I can only take the pen of opportunity and the ink of a fresh start with God today and write new pages, new chapters about God’s reclamation of one of His wayward kids….me.
The real story of my life and the legacy that CAN BE is not that I ran away from God, but that He loved me back! The story of my life is not that I blew my chance with God, but that He has given me another chance. The story of my life isn’t that I stopped my journey with God, but that He has given me a fresh start, a re-start on my journey.
If God grants me life, I will write this story faithfully…and more…I will lead a church that proclaims this fascinating message that anyone…everyone can have a fresh start with God.
This Sunday, weekly services begin at Life Change Community Church, at the Calabasas Commons, inside the Edwards theater at 10 a.m.. This Sunday, I will begin a 12 week teaching series: Running Away from God and Coming Back to Him.
I look forward to seeing you. I hope you attend. I hope you embrace the opportunity for a fresh start with God.
