Suggested Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
G.K.
Chesterton was invited to enter a writing contest, which posed a single
question: What is wrong with the world? His answer was simply, “I am.”
Chesterton’s
witty and succinct answer summarizes an important truth. Man is not righteous.
When
we look at the problems of the world, we are tempted to blame others. We might
point to the criminal elements of society. Or, we might point to the
unrighteous systems put in place by the powers that be (political, economic,
religious, or criminal). These are indeed problematic, but there is a deeper
problem that is behind all of these problems.
The
problem is us. We are not righteous. Our thoughts and desires are not as they
should be. There was a time when man and woman lived in perfect harmony with
each other and with God. There were unbroken relationships and pure desires,
but we mucked it up.
The
first man and the first woman chose not to trust God, but to try to make their
own way in the world, apart from God. In doing so, they broke the world, they
broke their relationship with God, and they broke something inside themselves.
We, their children, have been living with the consequences of their choice ever
since. We have inherited their warped morality and tendency to desire the wrong
things. Theologians call this ‘original sin’.
We
are all born bearing a bent image of God, and a defect of soul that predisposes
us to make unrighteous choices. We are, at our core, unrighteous. This is
particularly bad news, because only the lives of righteous people can be deeply
intertwined in a loving relationship with a righteous God. So, we need a
saviour. We need someone to make us righteous.
Jesus,
the baby born that first Christmas, was the first human since the first humans
that was born without that bent. He lived a perfect, righteous life, and even
while being victimized and executed He did not retaliate in sin. So, God took
all the sin of the world, including yours and mine, and placed it on Jesus at
His death. In doing so, God reconciled us to Himself. He made Him who knew no
sin to become sin so that we might have the bent places in our life
straightened out, the unrighteous places removed and replaced with the
right-ness of faith and relationship with God.
...............
Questions:
What
are some areas in your life where you see your unrighteous bent play out?
How
can you express your gratitude for God, for His gift of righteousness?
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