22nd June 2025

Have you noticed that in the story of Noah’s Ark, God told Noah to bring into the ark all the opposites: the wild and the domestic, the crawling and the flying, the clean and the unclean, the male and the female of each animal (Genesis 7:2-15). Then God shut the door behind them and locked them inside the ark (v.16). God put all the natural animosities, all the opposites together, and closed them in, holding them in one place. 

Noah’s ark is not meant to be a cute children’s story; rather, it is a mature metaphor for the people of God. The world is engulfed in the turbulent waters of opposites, tensions, frictions, and hostilities within a fallen humanity, and yet within the safety of the church God has brought together his people in all their diversity: all ethnicities, young and old, male and female, rich and poor, extrovert and introvert, have entered the safety of the church through the one door, Jesus Christ, which God shuts behind us so that we are locked in together. 

There are a couple of lessons this reveals about the church. 

First, we are called to get on with, to love, and bear with one another despite the external differences we have: ‘…as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.’ (Colossians 3:12-14). That’s not easy within the confined space of the church, but our differences will fade away as we recognise that our unity is because we are united in Christ Jesus.

Secondly, we are to celebrate the rich diversity of experience, gifts, and talents of the people we are locked in with. Everybody in the church has something to contribute and is to be applauded for the value they add to the body of Christ. As the Apostle Paul shows in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, many different parts are needed to form one healthy and fully functioning body.

I, for one, am glad that I am locked into the church with such a range and variety of people. It helps me to both learn to get on with people who are different to me, and to appreciate all that they bring to the table. In a world with choppy waters ahead, I’m glad to be locked into the safety of the church with my brothers and sisters. 

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead 
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:G
ordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:  
wordoflife@gracecom.church