So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.  Genesis 6:6

Most, if not all of us, are not going to get out of this life without at least one broken heart.  Without unrequited or lost love, artists, writers and musicians would have to scramble for material.

It may surprise you, however, to hear that God, the Creator of heaven, earth and us, suffered a broken heart!  Things on earth had gone terribly wrong in only nine generations of people. “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time,” Genesis 6:5 tells.  Starting with Adam and Eve, humans had chosen to be gods of their own lives. Chaos ensued and God decided to start over with the one righteous man on earth, Noah.

When you think of God, do you imagine Him as demanding that we please Him, and angry when we don’t?  God does get angry at evil because He knows it brings death and He created humans for everlasting life.  But the God of the Bible loves to the point of His own pain.  He reached down in that incredible love to redeem us from ourselves, with the gift of His Son, Jesus.

Here, in the famous story of the flood, we see the broken heart of a loving parent who wants the best for his children–as he watches them go astray. Then, He offered a new start.  He offers you the same, in Jesus.

 

Resource reading: Genesis 6: 1-22