Make a Big Difference

Sons of Noah (Source: free-stories.net)

I took part in a Sunday worship of Korean Christian Community in Halle at 17 October, 2010. I heard Pastor Hyun-jung Kim's good preach on the chapter 9 and 10 of the Book of Genesis. The brief summary of the chapter is as follows. When Noah was drunken and naked, Ham, a son of Noah, did not take care of his father; on the other hand, Shem and Japheth, other sons of Noah, nursed his father back to the health.

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside.But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him,he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers."He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem.May God extend the territory of Japheth ; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave." (Genesis 9:20-27)

I was surprised at Noah's warning such that Ham's descendants will become misery while Shem's and Japheth's descendants will prosper. It is because, even though Ham's attitude for his father was not serious in my view, it made big difference with Shem and Japheth. It shows that my trivial behaviours can be a seed to make big differences in the future. Everyone die, but the death does not mean the end of life; my traces in life will be transmitted to the next generation, and will give significant influences to their lives - especially to my son and daughter's life.

I realized that I should not be indolent in my life, which means that I always have to be aware of the truth and God's words. Today is not just today. Today will make a small difference in tomorrow, and the consecutive accumulation of Today will finally make a big difference not only in my life but also in the next generation.