January 3, 2017
Today's Reading
Meditation Text
Distill the teaching
What does this tell me about what God does?
What does this tell me about who God is?
What does this tell me that about who I am?
What does this tell me about who I should be?
What does this tell me about who God is?
What does this tell me that about who I am?
What does this tell me about who I should be?
Thinking Theologically
In any domain, we are unlikely to agree as to what the solution of a problem is, unless we agree as to the nature of the problem.
The religions of the world offer an enormous range of solutions to human problems. Some promulgate various forms of religious self-help exercises; some advocate a kind of faithful fatalism; others urge tapping into an impersonal energy or force in the universe; still others claim that mystical experiences are available to those who pursue them, experiences that relativize all evil. One of the critical questions to ask is this: What constitutes the irreducible heart of human problems?
The Bible insists that the heart of all human problems is rebellion against the God who is our Maker, whose image we bear, and whose rule we seek to overthrow. All of our problems, without exception, can be traced to this fundamental source: our rebellion and the just curse of God that we have attracted by our rebellion.
This must not be (mis)understood in some simplistic sense. It is not necessarily the case that the greatest rebels in this world suffer the greatest pain in this world, on some simple tit-for-tat scheme. But whether we are perpetrators (as in hate, jealousy, lust, or theft) or victims (as in rape, battery, or indiscriminate bombing), our plight is tied to sin—ours or that of others. Further, whether our misery is the result of explicit human malice or the fruit of a “natural” disaster, Genesis 3 insists that this is a disordered world, a broken world—and that this state of affairs has come about because of human rebellion.
God’s curses on the human pair are striking. The first (Gen. 3:16), which promises pain in childbearing and disordered marriages, is the disruption of the first designated task human beings were assigned before the Fall: male and female, in the blessing of God, being fruitful and increasing in number (1:27–28). The second (Gen. 3:17–19), which promises painful toil, a disordered ecology, and certain death, is the disruption of the second designated task human beings were assigned before the Fall: God’s image-bearers ruling over the created order and living in harmony with it (1:28–30).
With perfect justice God might have destroyed this rebel breed instantly. He can no more ignore such rebellion than he can deny his own deity. Yet in mercy he clothes them, suspends part of the sentence (death itself)—and foretells a time when the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent who led the first couple astray. One reads Revelation 12 with relief, and grasps that Genesis 3 defines the problem that only Christ can meet.
A.C.T.S. Making the Word become Flesh
Adore: How can I love and adore God based on this teaching?
Confession: What do I need to confess to God based on this teaching?
Thanksgiving: What can I thank God for based on this teaching?
Supplication: What can I ask God to do based on this teaching?
Confession: What do I need to confess to God based on this teaching?
Thanksgiving: What can I thank God for based on this teaching?
Supplication: What can I ask God to do based on this teaching?
Resolution
Finish your meditation with a resolution. Resolve with my Heavenly Father's enablement to . . .
Share your some of your meditation in the comment section as a way to encourage others.
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