A week of Noah (Day 2): Would I be on the ark?

(This is a week long series of my thoughts after studying Noah in The Women's Devotional Guide to the Bible by Jean E. Syswerda.) Join me this week.

 (Genesis 6:9 NIV)Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

So if I warped back to different parts of my life when I didn't know God and I wasn't following him, would I have been on the ark? Before Jesus' sacrifice would God have told me:
7 ....Dionne, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. (Gen 7 NIV)

 Maybe it depends on who you talk to, but me found righteous?..not entirely sure about that.

Noah didn't have Jesus in his heart, he never possessed the Holy Spirit, no bible to read and no one sharing the good news, but what he did have was righteousness in God's eyes. According to scripture, he walked faithfully with God  ⁵ And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. Did ya catch that? 

Faithful and obedient.

Yes, more often then not, even when I was four I had faith in God. Obedience? Um yeah, I am embarrassed to confess that before I accepted Christ, well, it didn't exist. In my defense, I was a child. Then, without saying too much, there have been BRIEF periods of my life where I have decided like an idiot that my way was best. And no, the consequences were not worth my stubbornness.

 Noah didn't have Christ as the one who bore his sin and made him new and he was still found righteous. ONLY his family and him were spared from death by water. Noah's story is a reminder of the blessings of being obedient and faithful. Not just an excuse to escape drowning, but Noah believed and trusted God and now this story is still told after more than 2,000 years later! AND Noah's family were the first humans to see a rainbow. God kept them safe. He kept his promise. They were the only humans left to repopulate the earth.  ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.(Gen. 6:8 NIV)

I am grateful that in Christ, I am found righteous, but also I am thankful that God, thru the Holy Spirit changes me, helps me be obedient and I don't have to stay in a rut. It is a privilege to be a part of God's plans...to be obedient or faithful isn't easy, but it always has a beautiful promise and ending. (like life and rainbows) 

Mosaic depicting Noah sending the dove to find land.