2053 Times... The Earth has Shook

Depravity is inconsistent in my mind. 2053 nuclear bombs have detonated on our planet.. We draw lines between what is beautiful and what is ugly, specifically in our appreciation of our "others" skin. It is an awesome evidence for a creator that we have such massive and such subjective evil on our planet. I say this since it should be obvious that skin should not create hate, and that bombs should not end the lives of many. Yet these man made horrors continue to plague us. There thus seems to be a struggle between the Kantian categorical imperative and our intrinsic animal blood thirst. To find a solution to this oscillation is humanly impossible. Since we cannot uphold the categorical imperative, we will continue to return to our id, over and over again. But this futility does not give us cause to accept a depraved lifestyle, as we see exemplified by the valuing of a "pretty" face over a "ugly" one. So, the only hope is in the concept of grace. Daily reliance on grace. Daily trust in Christ to manifest his light in our lives. As John says in his first chapter of his Gospel concerning John the Baptist "He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light". This is the only hope we have of fulfilling the moral law: We must realize that we can not fulfill the law, but Christ did and he lives in us. With that view, how can I hate you for your "blackness" your "ugliness"? I can't. I am in the line of Adam, with Judas and Pilate, I am Christ's murderer, yet he saved me.. Grace allows no room to hate fellow depraved humans, especially for something so trivial as a facial feature or a skin tone... In fact I would urge that we love those we would label as "other" in a way that makes them feel as if we see them as "one of us", and maybe... just maybe they will be. So, back to my initial statement, I would like to clarify and say, that I do believe in man's depravity, I just see Adam's fall as such a profound, inconceivable reality, that at times it seems inconsistent that a man given complete joy and peace in fellowship with God would trade that for the lie of pride.

Two Weights

I believe that at the very core of myself and all of us there is a great tension. In a visual sense, it is like a tendon being pulled slowly apart, at the brink of tearing. But this is the nature of tendons, to stretch. But then the problem. Imagine, some great weight, maybe a few hundred pounds falling on the weakest point of this tendon. The result would be unimaginable pain. I believe all weights funtion in this way, with the ability under the right circumstances to crush. So, I will now contrast two different "weights" which I think both actually exist. The first has been commonly known as the weight of the world. This is a fancy way of saying the inevitable futility of man. It is charaterized beautifully in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. It is horrific. And we all experience this weight to some degree. Be it in the inability to pass a test, live up to expectations, a lacking performance at work, the inability to provide food and shelter for your family..etc. When these seemingly secluded situations happen we see this weight of the world most vividly. But we are all, always trying to live up to some expectation, trying to achieve something, be it for me or for others we do not escape this..ever. But, the truly horrific part is that we will not escape it but we will never achieve anything by our pursuit and this is the true weight. This is futility. So, with that somber view in mind let us turn to the second "weight". It is told of in 2 Corinthians 4:17 "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (ESV). Two things to notice. First, we do not escape futility. In the Christian walk we will continue to sin, and even if we are not sinning (which is nearly impossible due to the near constancy of pride) others will be sinning causing our suffering. But through the blood of Christ and our belief in him as God and as our savior we have a hope that one day we will be with him and in his fellowship. But what will that be like? First it may be good to ask what should our response to justification by faith be now? The answer is humility. We can not earn this salvation but he did by suffering the wrath of God on our behalf. We have no recourse but to be humble. So what will our relationship be like in heaven? Well, he is going to glorify us. We will be perfect, wholly sanctified. And we did NOTHING for it... This is the weight of glory. We did nothing and he glorifies us. The weight of the world therefore does not have to bind us. For we serve an amazing God.