Musing 42

There are a number of points in Scripture that have profound impacts on how we interact with the world. The universality of man being an image bearer of God, the comprehensive nature of sin’s corruption, and the “foolishness” of the Gospel being just 3 of these ideas. While much could be said for all 3, a quick thought on each tonight should suffice to begin to prepare for worship.

That all men and women are image bearers of the living God is a testament to the core of our identity, and deviation from making God the center has untold impact on our lives. A work I’ve already mentioned, We Become What We Worship explores some of this (I’ve also started reading Identity and Idolatry and I’m sure I’ll talk about it more), and even that 1 lens has much impact on how to look at the world. But even more generally, remembering the universality of the identity of man as image bearers is something that will undercut much of how we are told to relate to one another. No more should money, race, or any other worldy metric be the defining metric by which we judge others. Instead we recognize their intrinsic value by their identity - a fallen image bearer.

The comprehensive nature of sin means that all aspects of our lives are corrupted by sin. Emotions, intellect, physicality, everything. This ends up pushing back against the narrative that we should just “follow our hearts” or “trust your instincts”. To be clear, they can give us insight to where our inclinations are trained or naturally bent. But apart from Christ, our hearts are bent towards sin. That doesn’t mean we’ll be as evil as possible, but it is an insight to the myriad ways our world is broken.

And the final point is that the world has many diagnoses and treatment management solutions. But despite all its wisdom, it cannot give a true solution to man’s core problems. Yes, worldly wisdom can bring about great good when applied well. There has been much alleviating of the worst poverty, especially over the last century. But that hasn’t stilled the void in man’s heart. And the rise of secularism has been devastating for our mental health at large. The pointing of people away from the one true God always has negative impacts. But note the Gospel’s solution to our problems. It isn’t a self-help solution. It isn’t “try harder”. It’s God saying “you can’t bridge this gap, so I will do it for you. Just acknowledge your need, repent, and believe in Me”. And what comes with that message isn’t a God immediately coming in power, but in humility. Which is so contrary to the world’s message.

As we go to worship, let’s remember that despite the world’s success in bringing temporary peace, it has yet to achieve true lasting peace. However, for those united to Christ in faith, that lasting peace has already been achieved.