Devotion on Genesis 6 - Noah was a Righteous Man

Scripture: Genesis 6:9

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

                             

What does it mean to be righteous?

Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah was a righteous man, and then. it tells us what that means: "blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God."

We often think of righteousness as only having to do with our relationship with God. But this verse shows us that righteousness involves two things: being blameless among others and walking with God.

What does it mean to be blameless among others? 

It means that no one has anything against you. No one can accuse you of anything. No one can say that you've hurt them or cheated them or looked funny at them or made a joke at their expense or failed to help them when they needed it. You're blameless among the people. The people can put no blame on you for anything you've done but shouldn't have or haven't done that you should have.

Before we go further, pause and ask yourself, is there anyone in your life who might be blaming you for something in their heart? Is there anyone who could have something against you?

What can you do to make that right and so, become blameless among the people once again?

The second part of being righteous is walking with God. How do we walk with God? What does that look like in your life?

I imagine two friends walking on a long journey together. Because they have so much time before they reach their destination, they have plenty of time to talk, and they talk about everything. They talk about small things, and they talk about big things. Their friendship grows as they continue to discuss new subjects, deeper subjects, and they question and challenge each other when they disagree.

That's how God wants us to walk with Him in life. He wants us to discuss everything with Him and let Him challenge our hearts and our thinking when He deems it necessary. As we continue to open up to Him and allow Him to open up to us, we will grow closer to Him until one day, we reach our destination, where even though He walked with us the whole way, He'll also be waiting for us at the end.

That's kinda neat, 'eh?

So, Righteousness = Being blameless among the people + Walking faithfully with God.