The Family

So they’re all out of the ark, and we’re introduced again to Noah’s sons.

 ^“The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japhet. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.” (Genesis 9 v 18-19)

Can you reread this remarkable statement? God built the world from one family. We trace back to these sons that came out of the ark.

He didn’t create from the dust again. Every tribe and tongue, every culture and ethnicity, is here at least in seed form.

So the mission to go into all the world that Jesus gave to each one of us was, in essence, saying, ‘reach the family’. In every language and skin colour, the image of God would be seen; scattered across the earth, not for division and borders, but to fill the world with the image of God.

So what does this mean for us?

1. The evil atrocities in Gaza or northern Nigeria, in Russia, Ukraine, and the list goes on, and even in the street around the corner from where you live, are with people who carry the same ancestry as those three sons of that man of faith who walked with God, Noah.
2. Every person is made in the image of God, so when we speak ill against someone, killing them with words or actions, we are hurting the image of God in them.
3. If God reached the whole earth eventually through 3 sons, what can He do with you and me? All He needs is your faithfulness to Him.

I wonder how things would be if we treated people like family?

Generally speaking, we don’t give up on family, do we?

Who is that annoying person? Maybe at work or someone who lives nearby. If you saw them as family, what would change? With family, you see them at their worst, but you don’t walk away. You remain committed to them. You don’t demand perfection. You don’t hold them at arm’s length. You give them grace.

Maybe the world is waiting for family.