Inspired by...: Inspired by . . . Life thru My Lens 42:52

Inspired by . . . Life thru My Lens 42:52

Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. (Gen 6:14-16)

For a man like Noah, living in a world that had yet to see a drop of rain, had no power tools, no electricity, this directive must have seemed insurmountable!

Far from being a simple children's story, the account of the building of the ark and the great flood is a breathtaking example of one man's faith and a glimpse into God's plan of redemption for all mankind.

And now, thanks to the Answers in Genesis project, you don't have to rely on your imagination any longer. A slice of pasture in Williamstown, Kentucky is now home to a life-size replica of Noah's Ark.

This marvel of engineering is seven stories tall and is a football field and a half long. It is the largest timber-frame structure in the world, full of world-class exhibits designed to answer your questions about the biblical account of Noah’s Ark.

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Heb 11:7)

There is so much more to this structure than pegs and beams.

Once inside you experience the Greatest Story every told.

I was really not prepared for the quality and sheer volume of information presented. The why and how of the Ark are presented in detail.

Water, waste, you name it - they cover it. They explain which animals are included and why.

Signs like this one answer common questions:

Noah and his family are so palpable I kept waiting for them to turn and look at me, or say something. Actually, Noah did just exactly that!

Every aspect of life in the Ark was showcased.

Every detail tells it's own story.

But this encounter is about much more than a big boat and a flood. The exhibits inside take you through the history of the earth. They show you, from the fossil record, how the earth was formed and how she grew into the world we know today. These exhibits answer your questions and dispell your doubts.

And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded. Then the LORD shut the door behind Noah. (Gen 7:16)

Once God shut the door to the Ark there was no going back. What man can open a door God has shut?

Noah and his family probably didn't fully understand what was about to happen, even though they had been warned. They were completely dependent upon God to see them through.

Although God has given us His promise to never again send a flood to destroy the earth (Gen 9:11), there is a day of judgment coming. We have been warned, just as the people in Noah's day were warned.

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Mat 24:38-39)

All the exhibits, Noah's family, the animals, the fossil record, all are fascinating and fun. But the powerful takeaway of the Ark Encounter is the Gospel - the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Because we know that the flood did not restore righteousness and goodness to our world. Only One born of God, perfect and sinless in every way could do that - and He did.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (Joh 3:16-18)

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1Jn 1:8) There is a penalty (debt) for sin. That penalty (debt) is death.

This, my friends, is the Good News: Jesus paid our debt. He bore the penalty of our sin, so that we might have life, life eternal.

The Ark Encounter is definitely worth the price of the ticket and the trip to northern Kentucky.