1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.5 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. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.ReflectionsWritten by James DavidsonThere is no reason to believe our generation is any less wicked than Noah’s, as described in v5. God sees the evil inclinations of the thoughts of the human heart today as well. And so he regrets making our generation as well, and every generation (v6). So God has set a day when he will judge this world and destroy all those who continue in rebellion against him.The apostle Peter linked Noah’s flood with the coming day of judgement in these words, when he talked about those who scoff at the idea of Jesus’ second coming, “But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:5-7)We should rejoice that all wickedness will be punished and all the ungodly brought to eternal destruction, even as we love them by trying to bring the gospel to them so they can be saved. But we should also recognize that, ‘there but for the grace of God go I.’ Like Noah, we are only saved from destruction by God’s kindness to us in enabling us to trust in his promises.But even as God’s children we can grieve his Holy Spirit, by how we speak to others or by bitterness in our hearts – see Ephesians 4:29-31. Here’s a prayer you could use today: ‘Father, please forgive me for the times I have grieved your Holy Spirit. Thank you that Jesus bore my guilt so I could be forgiven. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.’QuestionWhat is one way you have made the Holy Spirit sad? Thank God for his amazing forgiveness.About the AuthorJames Davidson is an Assistant Minister with our Bossley Park Congregation