Noah and the Hurting God

I was reading Genesis earlier this week and I was struck by the passage that speaks of God being grieved in his heart for having made man and sad/disappointed enough that he was going to destroy the whole world. Plants and animals too, not just the people. I wondered, what changed in his mind that he was ready to destroy everything but then a short time (cf 2 Peter 3:8) later he himself died for our transgressions.

I know Ephesians 1:10 says that at the fullness of time Christ appeared on the scene… but why was that fullness not when he was so moved to destroy everything?

Was it because he had not yet developed a relationship with his creation the dying for our sins would matter to us? Was it because he hadn't imparted the Law and therefore we had no recollection of our transgressions for it to matter that he dyed for our sins? Was it to demonstrate the futility of life apart from him? Was it to show us that when we are left to ourselves we will self-destruct and destroy even the beauty of the world? Was it show that being a good, moral person who does what is right still isn't enough without Christ at the center of our lives?

I don't know.

What I do know I that God was saddened enough by how his creation turned out that he wanted nothing to do with it. I know that God couldn't bring himself to destroy all of it (Noah & his family & the animals were saved). I know that God made a covenant (that is a deal) to never do that again. And he STILL died for our sins.

Whatever God's reasoning, timing and planning were without we would not have the opportunity to know him. We also wouldn't have a God who disappointment in the most of intimate ways.

God was sad.

He was disappointed.

Many of us have been there. Many of us know what God must have been feeling.

What better God is there than one who can say, "I feel your pain!"?

-- Eli

The New Year

I have never kept a New Year's Resolution & I highly doubt this year is gonna be any different. Therefore, I'm not making any New Year's Resolutions.

What I am doing is resolving to do something that is within my capability to accomplish. Let me rephrase that, I'm not resolving to do it , I'm just gonna do. I have decided to do it. 

In 2k10 I'm gonna be the best Eli that I can be. That menas many things on many levels to me. How that will play over the next year will surface in various forms. I got ideas but I'm not gonna share them right now.

Suffice it to say, 2k10 is the year of Eli being the best Eli he can be. 


-- Eli

This time last year…

As I ran on Saturday through 'my woods' my thoughts wandered to last Xmas. We were in Georgia. I had just finished another term at school, having told my classmates not to expect to see me again as j was moving for work. I had a start date planned fo a new job (which was actually an old for a second time). Life seemed good from the vantage point I was at...

I remember my New Year's Resolution being I wasn't going to have another crappy year (as with all resolutions, that didn't go as planned). It seems that life has a way of working itself out. Dr. Ian Malcolm would say that 'life finds a way' due to chaos theory. I would say that God finds a way... Maybe through chaos theory as well.

The outlook for 2k10 is much better than 2k9.

We live in a different town. We both have jobs. We are having more family time. The family time we have is more enjoyable. It is hard to complain at this time.

We are not where we want to be and our hopes for this coming are high. I do believe we are in a place in our lives thAt we are going to be able to make our goals come true. It is going to take hard work and determinAtion along tons of prAyer, but it is possible.

I'm not resolving to not have another crappy year in 2k10, that's impossible ( as fAr as my power to control or effect it… although with God nothing is impossible, which is why I say as far as my power). My resolve will be for something that I can actually do…

-- Eli