Intentional or Accidental?
Good afternoon from Westminster, MD!
How did we all get here? An age old question with more answers than I could possibly list here. Where you stand often comes down to whether or not you think we were created with intention or formed through a cosmic accident. I believe this question of hope and the lack thereof in our world today speaks to the reality of a creator.
I know that the idea that there is a creator is controversial, but it is hard to deny that there seems to be a created order. Realities such as poverty and hopelessness pull at the fabric of this created order and make us feel uncomfortable. Some people choose to dismiss this feeling as guilt for their own fortune, but I tend to believe that is a form of denial. Hopelessness and brokenness make us feel uncomfortable because they were never meant to exist. This is why we, the created, can look at a situation and know that something is not right. Consequently, it is also why we are so disturbed by people that seem to lack the innate ability to tell right from wrong at the most basic level.
Creation in its original form was meant to be in a state of what Judaism calls “Shalom”, or nothing missing, nothing broken. To say it another way, the world was created “very good” as it suggests in the book of Genesis from the Hebrew Bible. This perfect state was interrupted when the creations decided to walk away from their gracious creator. The Creator, God, gave his prized creation, humankind, free will and, therefore, the ability to walk away from him and live based on their own desires.
Unfortunately, the created decided that it knew best and took advantage of the Creator’s trust and love. Much like a parent with a wayward child, God allowed humankind to make its own choices and live with the consequences. Not surprisingly, the created was not very good at making the right choices to follow the created order and has been suffering from the results ever since.
We live in a fallen world of our own creation and sense this fallenness on a daily basis, especially when it comes to our tangible world. Our sense that we live in a fallen world is a primary contributor to our hopelessness. We wonder if this fallenness that is can ever change.
The good news is there is hope. We sense this as well. More on this next time.
– James Belt
In2theRiver 