Controversy about the movie “NOAH” started even before the
film hit the theaters. And not just from
fundamental Christians; three Muslim nations banned the film. Not to be
thwarted, the movie topped $75 million at the box office. The problem with “NOAH” is not just that Hollywood writers took
creative license to turn the brief Genesis story into a 2-hour feature.
They totally debased it: the act of creation is adapted to fit evolution; God
is seen as condemning, not redeeming; God’s mercy to save is subverted by His
desire to destroy. And rather than a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet 2:5), Noah is a murderous sociopath.
Of course Hollywood's version is man-centered; the Genesis account, Christ-centered. The flood pictures the need for a Savior; the Ark
personifies the Savior. The door points to Jesus, “I am the door; by Me if any one enters in, he shall be saved”
(John 10:9). And did you know that the door to Noah's Ark remained open, to all, until the very end!? They say the movie is never as good as the book. Isn't that the truth! (In fact, that is the only true thing you can say about the movie “NOAH”!)
Last year on this day, I wrote about the unprecedented tornadoes and hurricanes that were a reminder to us of our creaturely dependence on God. Now, one year later, we are experiencing the worst fires in 100 years in the Southwest, unprecedented heat waves everywhere, a freak windstorm that knocked out power in the Mid-Atlantic states, and the worst floods in the South in 100 years. What can make men feel more helpless than fire, flood, heat, and wind!
Is it any less obvious today than it was last year, or 100 years ago, or 1,000 years ago, that we are not the architects of our own destiny, as independent people are prone to think. Will natural, as well as economic and political, chaos make us see how vulnerable we are, cause us to repent of our independence, and bring us to the end of ourselves? A Declaration of Dependence? The day that happens we will truly be able to celebrate "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Did you know that Noah left the door of the ark open after he and all the animals got in? For seven days before the rains came, the door was wide open—still time to get on board (Gen 7:4). Evidently there was enough room for 11th hour converts.
But all those people who stood there looking at the open door of the Ark had hardened their hearts after watching Noah build for 120 years. Wouldn't they have had some doubts after seeing it finished? And even seeing the animals march into the Ark, two-by-two, you would think they should realized something extraordinary was going on. But they ignored all the signs, and instead went on living their lives, eating and drinking and marrying.
Incredibly, even on the last day, they could have been saved. An open door; why didn’t they come? “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man” (Luke 17:26). Jesus told His followers that there will be clearly identifiable conditions on the earth at the time of His coming, just like those in the days of Noah. Remember the people in Sodom and Gommorah? They too were too busy to pay attention: eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. Sound familiar?
In yesterday’s Sunday newspaper, the phrase “Unhappy Anniversary” grabbed my attention. Not an article about our 9/11 commemoration, it was about Japan’s 3/11 half-year unhappy anniversary of the tsunami that killed 24,000. Immediately I thought of all the unhappy events this year that will be forever annually commemorated: the Joplin, Missouri Tornado; the senseless mass murder of 84 teenagers in Norway. “Unhappy Anniversaries"... those dates we hate to remember—untimely deaths; floods, fires—events that changed lives forever.
But Paul’s assuring words remind us that we are not defined by unhappy histories. Rather, our co-death and co-resurrection with Jesus brings us into the ‘newness’ of life (Rom. 6:4). It seems to me that the “newness of life”—a word, by the way, that defies logic—demands that we live in a new reality where God causes all things to work together for good, where history does not control us, and where the hope of a new heaven and a new earth is more real to us than the unhappy one we’re living in.
In fact, when we live in the new reality, outside of time and earthly 'dates', we live in the promise of endless “days” of “goodness, peace, joy” (Rom. 14:17). And finally, reflect on this: “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past, for I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” (Is. 43:18-19)
If I had opportunity to do so last week, I would have commented more timely on the incongruity of a hurricane named “Irene.” Derived from the Greek word for peace (as is the name “Iran”) Irene really is a timely icon for the unpeace of our times.
Every human effort fails to produce ‘world peace.’ We cannot control mankind (genocide, homicide, suicide) anymore than we can control the weather (hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, earthquakes, flooding). Our world is characterized by job insecurity, financial uncertainty, and geopolitical instability.
In the wake of Irene's terrible unpeace, the phrase “peace, peace, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14) has never seemed more relevant. It is in the midst of such turmoil that Jesus says, “I bring peace, not as the world gives…” You see, the peace that Jesus offers is independent of external circumstances. It is, in fact, even more fully appreciated and enjoyed in times of trouble. And it is, therefore, said to "pass understanding." That is, no one can comprehend that anyone can possess such peace in this world.
Paul was able to 'weather' his own afflictions by fixing his thoughts on God's reality and setting his mind on things above where Jesus is (Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:1-2); thus telling us two important things. First, peace is not a place but a Person. And second, peace is an altogether different reality.
Before Altha and I left for Belize, I wrote asking that you pray we would follow the Lord through every twist and turn, allowing Him to make our path straight. How could I have known we would indeed experience ‘twists and turns’ in the form of a hurricane? On our last trip to Belize, in June, we were accompanied by the first almost-hurricane of the season, Alex—a tropical storm. But now we have seen the real thing—Belize City, its primary target. And there we were. That was last night (Sunday).
On Monday morning (today) Belize City awoke to a muddle of fallen trees, broken branches, downed power lines, and puddles the size of Olympic swimming pools—but, by God’s grace, not much flooding. Two of the missionaries we intended to meet today had several inches of water in their homes—so much for our plans! The other missionary (a church planter) was unavailable. He called from the local supermarket saying he had just purchased several cases of Top Ramen noodles and was heading across town to feed his church people—all of whom, I suppose, had no power to cook (they must have a generator at the church).
How will all these twists and turns affect our Christian brothers and sisters—and us? We are holding fast to God’s promise that He “twists and turns” [Greg’s translation] all things for good to those who love Him (we do) and are called according to his purpose (we are). So, if we are acknowledging Him in all our ways (we are), He will make our paths straight—there are no twisted paths in God's kingdom!
As awful as they are, the floods in Tennessee are not as terrifying as the rising tide of tolerance that is diluting Biblical truth and threatens to submerge the 21st century church. I’m not afraid for the survival of the Body of Christ, but I fear for young adults who are being drowned by this flow of false teaching.
A recent USA Today article, “Young Adults less devoted to faith,” asserts that this generation is increasingly dissatisfied with narrow interpretations of the Bible and more inclined to “live and let live.” In today’s editorial section, one sympathetic writer says “I seem to remember Jesus saying something along the lines of “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you (Mat. 7:12),” i.e., “live and let live.”
Ironically, in the very next verse (7:13) after that quoted by the writer, Jesus makes what is arguably the most intolerant statement of the Sermon on the Mount: “You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way.”
Let us watch and pray for the millennial generation who have been unknowingly inundated by the philosophy of tolerance—the ‘wide open door’ policy. Beware friends: the tide is rising.
Of course Hollywood's version is man-centered; the Genesis account, Christ-centered. The flood pictures the need for a Savior; the Ark
personifies the Savior. The door points to Jesus, “I am the door; by Me if any one enters in, he shall be saved”
(John 10:9). And did you know that the door to Noah's Ark remained open, to all, until the very end!? They say the movie is never as good as the book. Isn't that the truth! (In fact, that is the only true thing you can say about the movie “NOAH”!)
