Methuselah lived 969 years,
and then he died.
—Genesis 5:27
When we preachers cite today’s text, we sometimes say something like this: “Methuselah lived longer than any person in history. But all he did was live and die. In the long interval from birth to death, he did nothing worth recording.”
Really?
Who were Methuselah’s children? Lamech is the only one named, and all we know about him is that when he “had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah” (Gn 5:28).
“Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord,” because he “was a righteous man” (Gn 6:8, 9). Do you think grandpa Methuselah had anything to do with that?
The greatness of some people is that they have a great influence on someone who turns out to be great.
Except for Methuselah Noah wouldn’t have been here. Except for Noah, we wouldn’t be here.
Influence cannot be delegated.
You have it and can’t escape it.