We want to wake up in the morning with purpose, go through our day being loved, go to bed feeling satisfied and sleep in peace. 

    

Most of us are trying to build a life where we are happy, feel loved, have peace and are satisfied. We want our lives to have purpose and meaning. We search for what will quench this thirst as we turn to all the things the world has to offer and we pillage through each one trying to decipher what will work for us. Is it having a good career making decent money? Is it finding a hobby to spend our time on? Is it being physically fit and in good health? Is it being famous and finding spotlight? Is it a drug or a high? Is it a relationship? Is it sexual attraction? Is it to gain knowledge and education? It is to raise a family and leave a legacy? Is it to help people in need? While there are good things we can do there are also many destructive things people can do? Does it matter? What is our purpose? Why are we here? What’s wrong with the world? Is there hope?  Let’s back up for a second and zoom out.

 

 

We are all on a piece of dust flying through infinite space. At first glance it seems chaotic and random like a big explosive mess. It seems odd to think about doesn’t it? Then when you zoom in on this tiny particle of dust you find order and design. This piece of dust has a beautiful rhythm to its systems from the changing seasons to photosynthesis. There are natural laws at work to govern the physics of the material world. These laws are the glue that hold together what we know to be reality. There is evidence that intent, reason and intelligent design went into creating this piece of dust that we call earth. This place has life on it!  We who are living on earth have consciousness and self awareness. We have the cognitive ability to reason and think critically about the world around us. We philosophize and theorize as we use deductive reasoning to fix the problems that we encounter. We contain capacity to love and care. The capacity to wonder and be inspired. We ascribe beauty and value to things that esthetically please us or bring us comfort. Almost everything that exist has a purpose or solves a problem. It’s hard to look at so much evidence and think that we are all just a cosmological accident with no intended purpose. 

 

I have been living on my own since I was 15 years old and to pay the bills I became a painter. I often jokingly tell people I painted my way through high school before I got to college. Being a painter I have been on many construction sites where new buildings were being built. If there is a painting there has to be a painter and if there is a building there has to be a builder. Hours of design and skill go in to creating a quality painting just as hours of planning and thinking go in to building a building. 

 

This is true of creation. 

If there is a creation then there has to be a Creator. 

 

We can easily look at creation and see there was a designer. However, once we zoom in even closer we can see that there is a fracture in the design of creation. The systems seem damaged. The beautiful living design seems to be infected with some kind of disease. 

 

There is not much that we, the world,  agree on anymore and that’s why there are so many sub groups being created for people who have similar opinions. There is however one thing that almost every person on the earth agrees on. 

 

Are you ready???

 

That there is something wrong with the world. 

 

People don’t agree on ethics, morality, governments, religions, rights, laws, or even how to interpret the same evidence. We don’t even agree on what is wrong or how to fix it but  we all acknowledge that there is much room for improvement for the world. There is a cry in our hearts for justice and order. There is a cry for this world to be redeemed. There is a cry for us to be redeemed. (Romans 8:19-23)

 

The Bible tells this narrative that in the beginning, God created everything and everything God created was good. It was very good.  As the story unfolds we see this good creation being subjected to death, destruction and chaos. Sin entered the world through people’s free will to choose what is wrong over what is right and what is bad over what is good. Ever since the world has been cursed and the nature of people has been at odds against the nature of God. 

 

God didn’t just wipe us out and start over. 

No.

Instead He began a mission, in Latin it’s called the miss oh die or the mission of God. God’s mission was to get us to choose Him back because he hadn’t changed his mind about us. But because of the arrogance and pride in people God had to show the world their need for Himself. 

 

God gave the law and over and over again no one could keep it. Even when they wanted to. Even when they tried really really hard. Even the best kind of people the world could produce would fall short of God’s glorious standard. 

 

Each of us have lied, stolen, gossiped, slandered, hated, manipulated, been selfish, greedy, been lovers of self and pleasures rather than lovers of God. 

God’s law acts a a mirror for us to look into and reflect. In that reflection we see we see our need for redemption. We see our need for grace. We see our need for God.

 

So God himself came to earth as Jesus to save us. 

 

 

    The world is shattered and broken. People are hurting, depressed, anxious, addicted, codependent, jealous and bound. Many are confused searching for answers that will bring peace and satisfaction. The solution is Jesus. He and He alone is the Savior and Redeemer of our souls. He is the hope for those who have been let down. Those who have been hurt by religion or atheism. Those who think they are righteous or those who humble themselves. Everyone has the disease no matter how severe the symptoms. Everyone is in need. Jesus is God’s plan A and there is no plan B. We all agree there is something deeply wrong in our world. The truth is there is something deeply wrong in each of us. Weapons aren’t evil rather people who misuse them are evil. We can’t keep trying to mask it. We can’t keep decorating the outside while the inside is decaying. We must get to the root issue. We all have gone our own way and fallen short of God’s glory. We do the things we don’t want to do and we don’t do the things we know that we should do. Who can save us from this wicked cycle? The Bible says thanks be to God who sent his son Jesus in the likeness of sinful frail humanity. He suffered with us becoming cursed for our sake so He could take our punishment and give us His righteousness.

 

 You are loved and valued by the God who has been pursuing you every moment of every day. The Bible says if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Savior and Lord then you will be saved. This is the Gospel. This is good news. This is what we are building our lives on. Share it with the world.