Genesis 5, 6, & 7

I'm continuing my study of Genesis, and this morning I was in chapters 5, 6, & 7. 5 is genealogy, 6 is Noah and the instructions for the Ark and preparations for the flood, and 7 is the flood.

A few things I find in this story:

• God provided for His people by allowing Adam additional children to carry on the blessing of being created (5:3).
• People used to live for a very, VERY long time (5:5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27), but only Enoch "walked with God; and he was not for God took him." That is quite a way to leave.
• If nothing else, I want to find favor in the eyes of God (6:8). Even though I am evil when I am sinful, "favor in the eyes of the Lord" would be something worth seeking.
• God was perfect in His creation, but he was also thorough in His destruction. Rain fell upon the earth for forty and days adnd forty nights (7:12), and then the waters "prevailed upon the earth" for another 150 days (7:24). "He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth;" (7:24a). He was perfect in His creation of the world, but He was also thorough and persistent in destroying it.
• "and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark." (7:24b)

Behold the favor found in God's eyes.

Colossians and Genesis

Since my last post, I have finished the Gospel of Luke as well as moved on from my continuous study of the Sermon on the Mount. Now I am fixing most of my efforts on Colossians and Genesis. I've read through Colossians once, now, but I may re-read it, or not, I don't know, but I started Genesis this morning.

Chapter 1 and 2 of Genesis were intriguing. Mainly, what sticks out to me is the creation of man, the 6th day. We were created as good creatures, in the image of God, and yet on Sunday mornings I can't help but hear people talk about how "evil" and "undeserving" we are. Yes, I do believe man is broken and fractured because of the fall, but I also believe that long ago we used to be good. I believe Christ came to redeem Creation, all of it, and that includes restoring everything to its full glory in God. Our initial, most glorifying status as a created thing was to be in INCREDIBLE relationship with God, as He was in an INCREDIBLE relationship with Himself.

I will admit, I have a lot of questions. I don't know the answers to most of them, or how to find an answer to most of them. But I still have questions.

In other news, I am struggling. I am struggling in my relationships with many people. I thought I had several relationships nailed down some time ago, but this semester has been hard. This semester is a challenge to me. I'm having difficulty connecting with, connecting well with, and staying well connected to my close friends. And by close, I really mean anyone I might share any history with. I did a lot of thinking this weekend about this topic, and I don't know how I feel about it, nor how I feel about these friends of mine. I think I need help.

God is good, none of this has caught Him by surprise, so somewhere in the middle of all this is a way for me to be redeemed, and climb my way out. I don't know where that is, yet, but it's probably somewhere in the middle of all this mess.