SINNERS

It’s easy to draw a line between “the wicked world” and “God’s people,” but I think the truth is messier than that. I imagine there were some who helped Noah lift a board or two, even offered him a jug of water while he worked. Maybe they didn’t laugh when others did. Maybe they even believed—in some quiet, passive way—that he might be right.

But they didn’t get in the ark.
They never crossed the threshold.

And when the skies cracked open and the dry ashy ground turned to a sea... it was too late. Proximity to obedience is not obedience. And sympathy for God’s work is not surrender.

I don’t know why this hits me so hard lately. Maybe because I’ve met people—good people—who pray sometimes, serve often, live “better” than a lot of church folk... but unfortunately for them, Jesus is more of a concept than a companion. And if you asked them what surrender looks like, they might fumble through an answer. I get it. I fumble too. But the question remains.

Are we in the ark? Or just admiring the architecture?

You see, Jesus once said that in the final days, it would be like the time of Noah. People living normal lives. Planting. Marrying. Trading. Building. Laughing. None of it sinful in itself. But the flood wasn’t about sin alone—it was about the refusal to enter safety when it was offered. The ark wasn’t locked until every chance had been given.

I keep wondering how many of us—quietly, unknowingly—stand outside the ark, thinking we’re safe because we’re nearby. Or maybe we believe we live in the "Greater Metropolitan Region of Righteousness" we are moral enough. Because we sing along with the hymns and not sin along with "him".

But Noah didn’t build a monument. He built a vessel.

And vessels are meant to carry.

Maybe that’s the question.
Not just Do I believe in Jesus?
But Am I inside what He built?

Never forget, the door closes before the rain begins.