I’ve been thinking about Noah lately. Noah from the book of Genesis. I like to think I could be like him, but when push comes to shove, I’m not sure I’m strong enough.

How about you? Could you be Noah?

God called him to do something utterly and completely crazy.

We teach it to children with a bit of a sing-song lilt, focusing on the happy ending when most of the story isn’t happy at all.

God tells Noah He’s going to flood the earth to destroy all of humanity. All of it. Except Noah’s family if he follows God’s call.

That call? To build a boat. A giant boat. A boat that was about 450 feet long.

I can see Noah’s neighbors laughing at him behind their hands. Rolling their eyes at the religious fanatic they dismissed as crazy.

But does having a call make your crazy? Sometimes I think it’s the most sane thing in the world. That we all have a call, a unique task – something we have to build. It takes bravery and faith to do it, especially when it’s something as outrageous as building an ark.

Some say that before the flood it had never rained on the earth. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but if it is, that only adds to the ridiculousness of Noah’s task.

I wonder if Noah ever had second thoughts. If he considered never nailing those first few cypress boards together. Or if he wanted to quit halfway thorough.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter. Noah did build the ark, and because of that, you and I are here today. We come from his line. God used him to rescue all of humanity.

Noah’s crazy task had a purpose. No matter what anyone else thought, he fulfilled his call.

I want to be like Noah. I want to have a direct call from God and faithfully put in the effort to complete it. But I think I care too much what people think. I want to fit in and only stand out for good reasons. For accolades. Not because I’m weird, or crazy, but because everyone wants to be like me.

I’m pretty sure while Noah was building the Ark no one wanted to be him. But once the door closed and the rain started falling in heavy, thick drops, I bet they had second thoughts. At the end of the day, Noah wasn’t crazy. He was a hero. Why? Because he followed his call.

God said build it, and he did.

In that case, I want to be as crazy as Noah. I hope we all can be. I hope we can become more willing to be used for something bigger, and ignore the snickers and stares we get as we live out our callings—whatever it might.