A summer storm

After a few days of extreme summer heat in Europe, huge thunderstorms set in since yesterday. Rain, storm and hail descended over the entire region. Trees collapsed and we saw the first victims of the stormy weather.

It is not unusual and occurs often that the sun conceals itself behind dark clouds in summer and reappears, in times of heat-waves. It must have been the same in Noah's time, after he built the ark and boarded it, together with a chosen few, and the animals.

However, the summer storm at that time was no ordinary storm. It was a thunderstorm born out of God's wrath poured out on the earth. As today, the world in many parts were not the way God had planned and created it. Everywhere the people were sinful, turned from God and no longer wanted to live in accordance with His rules.

At that time, God sent a massive flood which flooded all countries and destroyed all life which had not found refuge in the ark. However, for us today, we find comfort in this event, as God established a covenant with those who remained and all who were still to come. Our scripture for today is taken from this event. God will never again destroy the earth with a flood, He will never pour out His wrath in this manner again.

It is however not the case that God is no longer wrathful because of the way people are living. But, today it concerns each individual. Every single person has the opportunity, after Jesus' sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, to approach God personally and make it right with Him. Every single person who wants to, can accept Jesus' sacrifice for Himself personally and can thereafter trust in God's grace: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.'' (Mark 16:16).

How will God judge you one day? Have you decided?

I wish you a blessed day in the shield of the cross.

Rainer Gigerich