ART & POETRY BY PAUL T. & KATHY BOECHER©

Paul’s painting displays the majesty of God’s creation. Today I’m using it as a reminder of why we need a Savior. The idea of sin causing people to go to hell is not a popular thought these days. Most of us don’t like to be told that we’re sinners. At the time when Noah was building the ark, people laughed at this common man who had orders directly from God. The world had become so corrupt it’s hard to imagine that God’s patience isn’t running out again. Our world is a mess. Hatred and anger abound. Families are in disarray. We have become a world of robots going through the motions of living – forgetting to care about each other – losing track of our final destination. When the flood came, the world had not yet experienced rain. Water fell from heaven, but also gushed up from the earth, destroying everything in its path except for the ark and those in it. It cut through the mountains leaving a trail of erosion that we can see even today. When the rain stopped and the waters receded, God placed a rainbow in the sky and promised that He would never send another flood to destroy the world.

Noah and his family were to repopulate the world. It would be a second chance for God’s creation and its people. It didn’t take long for mankind to mess up again. The original sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve was passed on from generation to generation. The need for someone to rescue mankind could only come from the One who created it. God sent His own Son to take our place – to become one of us – to call us to repentance – to suffer and die for us – to rise again from death and ascend back to His heavenly throne – allowing us to enter the realms of heaven after our time here on earth. We need Him today more than ever. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. Will we be ready? God chose us. All we need do is follow Him, have faith in Him and live according to His will.

Tempestuous waters seeped up from within the earth
And gushed forth with astounding power,
The skies opened at the direction of God’s voice,
And poured upon a once rainless earth,
Cutting a path of destruction.
Severing trees,
Washing away the ugliness,
Only the faithful remained,
A family of eight survived,
Along with two of every species,
The rage of God could be tested no more,
But even in His anger,
He created beauty from destruction,
The sound of His voice carved canyons out of granite,
Waters laid to rest in lakes and rivers,
Mountains laid low as valleys rose up to meet them,
When the deluge subsided,
The Master Architect had once again.
Created a new world,
His work could not be destroyed,
His love endures forever,
Man’s disobedience continues to corrupt today,
How much more will God endure,
Did we learn nothing from our past?