Obedience In Spite of

Obedience In Spite of – from Joe Gatuslao

The story of Noah is a familiar story for most of us, yet we can always learn fresh insights from it. I will always admire Noah for two things: his devotion to God and His commands despite the wickedness of the world he lived in and his obedience even to the most minute details of God’s commands.

Social pressure on young people has never been stronger. A friend’s daughter came home crying one day because the class teased her for not cheating on the pop quiz the teacher gave them. Everyone in the class cheated except her, which made her different.

I was so bothered by that scenario. Doing what was right was considered laughable when everybody was doing what was wrong. It is hard to imagine what the future will be like for this generation.

Children need to be educated about what’s wrong and what’s right. But beyond obedience, we need to help them develop an unsinkable devotion to God. It will take a strong faith in God and determination for one to go against these persisting values.

When Noah started building the ark, he must have faced ridicule from men. Yet, out of his faith in God, he obeyed God, and he and his family were saved. May we remain steadfast in obeying God’s commands, though it may require us to go against the tide. It is better to anchor our lives on His trustworthy Word than ride the wave of social opinion.