Paul said, “…whatsoever were written aforetime were written for our learning… (Romans 15:4). This would include the exemplary lives of men and women who are worth imitating. This week let’s look at some of these examples.
Noah was a man worth imitating. He was not perfect. We have recorded for us at least one occasion in which he behaved in a way that must have displeased God (Genesis 9:21-23). Nevertheless, his overall life was well-lived. The world that he lived in was as ungodly as it could get. Man was decidedly evil. The Bible says, “… the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Sill, Noah lived a life that pleased God.
Genesis 6:8 (ESV)
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
The first lesson we can learn from Noah is that how we live should not be dictated by how everyone else is living. If we aim to do what is right in the sight of God, we will not be persuaded by the masses. Never let the world become your standard of living. Paul warned us about this:
Romans 12:2 (ESV)
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We still live in a world of ungodliness. Will we allow it to determine how we live? We won’t if we follow the example of Noah.
There is something else about Noah that we should imitate. His faith moved him to obey God no matter what. True faith is obedient faith. It always causes a person to live righteously.
Hebrews 11:7 (ESV)
7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
It could not have been easy to build the ark. It most likely took Noah 120 years to complete (Genesis 6:3). Furthermore, it was probably a very unpopular work. Remember, the world was filled with ungodly people. When people inquired about what Noah was doing, he was not ashamed to tell them the truth. Can you imagine telling people that it was going to rain for forty days, and forty nights and that the world was going to be destroyed by a global flood? It would be laughable to carnal-minded people who had no faith in God, but Noah kept on building and preaching (2 Peter 2:5).
Not only did Noah refuse to live the sinful life that everyone around him was living, by faith, but he also lived obediently to God and tried his best to get others to do the same thing. Isn’t that worth imitating? Like Noah, let us do our best to demonstrate the righteousness that comes by true faith.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.