A Lot Like Noah

12 11 09 Like Noah

As a Christian watching the Copenhagen Talks unfold, the irony of the times we live in are inescapable. I remember hearing the story of Noah as a child and marveling at the kind of person he was. Noah heard the Voice of God instructing him to save all land-bound life by building an ark. Further, he was to build the ark where he lived, far from the sea, and he had to do it despite the taunts of the entire surrounding community. I remember marveling at the kind of times Noah lived in, and the amazing faith exhibited in his life.

Ironically, we now we live in a time when we must hear the Voice of God calling us, once again, to save life on the planet. How ironic that I, and all people who claim faith, are called to put our faith-money where our mouth is and display the same kind of faithfulness as did Noah. It is not enough simply hear the Voice of God, but we are called to stand out in the world and make a difference. We are called to be ark-builders once again.

Only it turns out that if we are to be successful this time we have to save both the planet and human civilization. That is, it will take the combined effort of all the worlds peoples working together to pull it off. Nothing on this scale has ever been successful before. I am not even aware of something on this scale ever being attempted.

Yet, God is in it. We have the scientific knowledge and technical ability to pull this off. We have the communications networks to spread the word and build public support. We have all that it takes to pull this off. And what is more, if we pull this off, it will transform human society as we know it. .....Erosion Caused by Melting Permafrost.....
We will know
forevermore that we are capable of uniting in the face of real need, in spite of all the anxieties that go along with the trying to live with so many ‘others' on the planet. This knowledge of what we are capable of will be with us forever. WOW!

But it does require belief—belief that
God has empowered and is empowering something majestic and monumental in human history, and belief that our faithfulness can make a difference. It does require more than just hearing God’s Voice, though. It requires faith in action. It requires responding to what we hear with all our heart, with all our minds and with all our strength.