Amateurs
By TAHREN TERRELL BRANDON
The Ark was a ship, the first one ever built. Along with Noah and his family, it housed seven pair of every clean animal and one pair of every unclean animal, male and female (Gen. 7:2). Noah never boasted about the ark being unsinkable, he didn't have to, it was proven when it withstood the flood that destroyed the entire world.
Throughout scripture there is a continuous struggle as to who will receive the glory, Nimrod is one of those who wanted the glory for himself. He wanted his name to be great, he wanted to do everything without God. Nimrod was the grandson of Noah, founder of Babylon, and notably the first monarch in the world. He was a ruthless tyrant who conquered men and territories, reaching heights of success like no other, all in a quest to build his own empire (Gen. 10:7-12). His name means “let us rebel” so it's fitting that he led the first organized rebellion against God in the building of the Tower of Babel (1 Chron. 1:8-16).
There was no righteous motivation behind building the tower and the only thoughts towards God were to leave Him out of the plans entirely. Nimrod and his people refused to spread throughout the world as God had commanded, their wickedness was best served in a city where they could come together in unity against God (Gen. 9:1). The Tower of Babel would be an emblem of pride, the first skyscraper, a standout among the cityscape of Babylon. They would make a name for themselves; they would go down in history, and yet, we remember none of them. None of the builder’s names have ever been mentioned and the name Nimrod has assumed a derogatory meaning. Looks like they won’t be honored by future generations after all. Merciful God, who had the power to strike them down in death, only confused their language so they couldn’t communicate. They thought they were the experts, but they were really amateurs (Gen.11:1-9).
Are you the expert in your life or will you acquiesce to being an amateur and let God lead the way? We are all amateurs, none of us are equipped to live this life on our own. There is no making a name for ourselves because nothing we accomplish is of our own doing, even if we don’t have sense enough to give the credit to God. Without God, we are nothing; with God, nothing is impossible.
J. Bruce Ismay was the president of White Star Lines, the company that built the Titanic. This unsinkable ship was likely what Ismay thought would cement his name in history. Like the builders of Babylon, Ismay wanted to make a name for himself with the Titanic. The Titanic had received three warnings of icebergs before hitting the one that would sink the ship. It is alleged that Ismay had pressured the captain to speed up the ship in order to reach New York earlier to garner favor in the press. The ship would never reach New York, but Ismay survived, his life was spared when he took a seat on a life boat ahead of women and children. His name was indeed cemented in history, in the hall of shame. Though he endured the disaster of the Titanic, he was as good as dead, his own granddaughter described him as a walking corpse.
Ismay had $400 million at his disposal, the backing of an entire company, architects with prestigious educations and expertise. Noah had never built a boat, never seen a boat and had no frame of reference. What Noah did have was the Lord. He was no expert but he had God’s blessing and His favor. Experts built the Titanic, an amateur built the Ark that withstood the flooding of the world. There is absolutely nothing we cannot do with Christ on our side. There is absolutely nothing we can do without Him. Think you are a success? Check and see if Jesus Christ is involved. Do you have His blessing? We are all amateurs; we don't have the ability to make things great on our own. But it is in our power to trust the one and only true and living God. He is the only one who can help us build an unsinkable life.
