the tension of the age

The biblical account of the earth really makes sense to me. The old story about creation being blessed and then given to human beings so they could wisely stewart and care for it. And then when they rebelled and sinned everything fell downward and death and darkness began to grow where there used to be blessing.

This is our world. Our world is covered in both beauty and terror. there is light so rich and full that no imagination is wild enough to contain it, there is dark so evil and destructive that no shrewd wisdom can overcome it.

This world of ours is very complex. It is so bright and vibrant, full of rich colors and diversity ... and brilliant inventions. Even within the world of humans I am constantly astounded by the creativity of human beings, from the cd player that reads code and translates it into music, to the music itself. From the jet liner to the literature of the brilliant men and women scattered over the earth and throughout time.

But in those very same places (the earth and humanity) there is a terrible darkness, pockets of fear and evil machinations. People using their creative power to control and manipulate others so they can have transient pleasures. Even the world itself seems to be turning on inward with violence, destroying anyone in its path. There is flying sickness and death. There is pain and loss and suffering. And there is just void and unknowing. There is emptiness and desperation. There is loneliness.

This is the reality that must be held in our minds as we look upon the old gospel story. The good news that Jesus is a great warrior, who in God's strange way fought evil and death itself through suffering and dying innocently ... and that his walking out of the tomb was an open door to new creation, restoration of the blessedness of the old creation ... that the Creator God had found a way to work within the messy world itself to bring about a light and life that would win over darkness and death ... it is more breath-taking for facing the whole story.