Salvation and The Fear of God

My wife and I were talking last night in the car about the biblical account of Noah's Ark. This is a feel-good story that we often teach to our children. We smile and laugh about the animals, and I remember a song from my childhood about God sending the rainbow. The ark was God's vehicle for salvation of Noah, and eventually the propigation of the human species, but was the ark all good news?

The ark was not good news to those who were not on the ark. Instead, the ark screamed God's judgment to sinful human beings who refused to honor God in their lives. God punshed those who refused to honor him and saved those who loved him. God was active in the entire process, even closing the door of the ark. Noah and his family did not take a beautiful cruise. Imagine the screams they must have endured and the nightmares that must have followed them throughout their lives as they recounted God's judgment.

Surely, no one has ever lived who should have had as great a fear of the Lord and appreciation for his saving acts as Noah and his family. Noah must have truly understood what it meant to be saved from the wrath of God, because God's wrath was not a future possibility, but a present reality during the flood.

If we ever truly understand just all that we've been saved from, I'm certain that our appreciation for salvation and our fear of God would change. It is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).