A couple of texts caught my attention one day. When I looked at them in different versions, they painted an interesting picture of God. Here's God being frustrated, hurt, exasperated, and angry with His creation. It's in Genesis 6:6&7. Here are the texts in a few different versions;

GOD was sorry that He had made the human race in the first place; it broke His heart. GOD said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds--the works. I'm sorry I made them." (The Message)

He was sorry that He had ever made them and put them on the earth. He was so filled with regret that He said, "I will wipe out these people I have created, and also the animals and the birds, because I am sorry that I made any of them." (Good News)

He was very sorry that He had made them, and He said, "I'll destroy every living creature on earth! I'll wipe out people, animals, birds, and reptiles. I'm sorry I ever made them." (King James )

Even though He was sorry He ever created our world, He still kept the human race going by saving Noah and his family during the flood. But we didn't get any better after that. Instead we became more arrogant and thought we could build our way to Heaven. God had to step in and mix up the languages so the building would stop.

If God was that frustrated before the flood, how much more frustration He must have felt as everyone continued to ignore Him! It must have hurt to watch His creation ignore Him while at the same time put their trust and affections in lifeless objects that are incapable of caring. Yet He still didn't wipe us all out. Instead He turned to His Son and asked Him to go down to earth and pay the price of our sins so that one day He could come get us and live with us again.

The kind of love it would take to sacrifice your own son for a bunch of thankless, thoughtless, selfish, people is more than I can fully understand. Even though humans still continue to ignore God and even not believe He exist, God still tries to reach each one of us. He tries to bring each one of us close to Him so He can take us on home to be with Him forever. Such patience! Such love! There are no words to describe a love like that! He has put everything into winning us back to Him, yet we are so undeserving of such love and attention. We ignore Him. We curse His name. We think we can do things on our own and don't need His help, but He doesn't turn away from us. Instead He keeps calling us. He keeps saying, “Come to me. Believe in Me. I want to take you home and live with you forever. I love you!”