Genesis 8

verse 18, "So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives."

As I read that sentence I realize how powerful God's protective hand is. The entire world, everything living in it, was destroyed by a flood. And yet, this simple, righteous man and his family was saved in this boat.

I have lived through a hurricane and have seen the damage where we lived in-land. I cannot imagine what it would be like on the ocean. I picture this 40-day storm much worse than any hurricane anyone has experienced. But Noah was safe and he was saved through the water.

We aren't saved by the water of baptism, but it is a symbolic act of what God is doing within us to draw us to Him. In a sense I believe that the flood was a symbolic act of baptism to draw all of humanity out of the depths of sin and into the protective arms of God.