Lets go back in time and see how GOOD and BEAUTIFUL things were before sin entered the world.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." ... And God said, "Let there be a vault between the water to separate water from water." ... God called the vault "sky"... And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so ... And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land ... "And it was so. And God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth ..." And God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth ..." God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds..." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in out likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock, and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created mankind in his own image, in the images of God he created them; male and female he created them." God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
See the theme? It was good. God created everything GOOD. Then he made humans. We were created in His image ... a GOOD image.
Then what happened? Humans got greedy? Humans wanted the power? Humans wanted more?
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had make. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die." " You will not die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will bel ike God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked...
Back in our history God sent his Son to live with us, teach us and save us from this utter brokenness. Jesus Christ, is our hope. He was the LAST sacrifice so that we could have LIFE and life abundantly!
Romans 8 talks about the end goal ... at a certain time when Jesus Christ comes back he is going to renew everything. NO more suffering, no more pain, no more poverty. All that good stuff will come to life. Isn't that something to look forward to? Doesn't that give us a fire to do something for God ... for the one who gave it all? So, having all that hope how does that make us in the present? How does that change our life today? How do we participate in the story of God? How do we change this broken world into something good?
Ronald and I are doing what we can in Cebu to aid in the coming of Christ. Failing many times but still striving to the Kingdom.
You don't need to live in a 3rd world country to do Kingdom work, to help renew this broken world ... look around -- there are broken people all over the United States, people longing for hope.
Think about how your actions effect others, think about living simply to help others, think about NOT living to your means. Love people.
"in the world exists literal starvation and literal nakedness...and at the same time, i can't fit all my clothes in my drawers and have to run because i eat more than i need .... "-- Shanley Deignan.
