Yet, in reality, we all encounter trouble. We face catastrophic illness, financial stress, and sudden death. Reality proves that sometimes, the truth isn’t pretty. Yet, knowledge of the truth sets one free. Acceptance of the truth sets us free to grapple with life’s vicissitudes.

In Noah’s day, God commented on mankind’s condition, and it wasn’t pretty. He described the pervasiveness of sin in the world and individuals. Corruption, violence, and shockingly immoral imaginations led to vicious violation of personal rights. Vehemence in word, thought, and deed replaced truthfulness and righteousness.

In fact, perversion and oppression consumed mankind to the extent that God brought judgment against all living persons and destroyed them with the flood.

Alongside God's judgment for sin he displayed grace in preserving Noah and his family. Noah found grace in God's sight. He walked with God, trusting him and his promise in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve to provide the seed of the woman, who would crush the serpent’s head and destroy his works.

These events play a role in God's age’s long plan to fulfill his promise to Adam and Eve to provide a savior who would crush the serpent, i.e. satan, and redeem sinners from the effects of sin.

The Old Testament gives numerous examples of God's use of judgment coupled with grace. It began in the Garden with Adam and Eve and followed with the case of Cain, Abel, and then Seth.

Noah and his family provided another illustration. We now progress to the incident of the Tower of Babel. God's grace shined with his call of Abram. Israel’s exiles into Assyria and Babylon preceded their return to Jerusalem by God's gracious intervention through Cyrus.

The death of Christ revealed God's ultimate judgment upon sin as Christ bore the sin of sinners like you and me. The resurrection turned gloom into joy. His ascension to the throne at God's right hand confirmed his kingship over all things.

One final combination of judgment and grace awaits humanity, the time of final judgment by the one whom God has established as the judge of all things. Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, Christ-followers from unbelievers. He will cast the goats, unbelievers, into eternal separation from him. The sheep will join him in the new heavens and new earth.

In preserving Noah, God protected the lineage that would ultimately culminate in Jesus Christ, the Savior who destroyed the enemy of mankind, the devil who indwelt the serpent. Although the Bible describes Noah as a righteous man who walked with God, he did not fit the requirements of the promised savior.

Jesus Christ alone fulfills all the requirements and prophecies regarding the Messiah. In substantial part, his sinlessness, obedience, intimacy with God, and atoning death on the cross qualified him to serve as God's promised one.

These events pertain to our day, too. Our world resembles that of Noah’s day. Like them, present humanity rejects God and the work of the Holy Spirit to convict and correct them. The example of Noah’s day should warn us about our precarious condition. While our times warn others, Christ-followers can find encouragement in God's faithfulness and grace for them.

The Holy Spirit can change our lives because of the truths that these events reveal. Christ-followers can exult in what God has done for them by grace through faith in Christ. If you have not yet trusted Christ, the Holy Spirit can enable you to embrace Jesus Christ in faith, trusting God to reconcile you to himself through Jesus Christ.