In this life, there is this constant “keeping up with the Jones’ mentality filled with consumerism, perfection, and constant striving to attain some thing greater than what we already have. N.T. Wright In his book on Evil and the Suffering of God diagnoses the American and Developed World’s problem as Progress. We are obsessed with new technology and advancements and along the way, we have bought into this idea that increasing technological progress means moral and ethical progress. When we come up against trials, wars, illness, or evil in this world, we are completely baffled by it. We forget that evil present today in this world is the same evil that first reared its head in the Garden of Eden. The same sin that Adam and Eve committed by choosing to fracture their relationship with God to establish their own thrones is the same sin we each have committed. There are so many theological questions that can be raised when talking about that day in Eden but the one that bewilders me is why God did not choose to destroy the first creation and start afresh. Why is it that he punished them but still gave them a chance for life? He could have easily started from scratch with a new creation that would adore and love him but instead, he chooses Redemption. He sent Jesus, part of his Holy Trinity to take on every aspect of humanity. This Jesus guy that was sent to save a people that constantly turned away from Him. Ultimately he chooses to die for those people. He had every opportunity to walk away and give up, but just as God did not give up on humanity in Eden, he did not give up on mankind and saved us on that momentous day in Golgotha.
The beauty is that despite the suffering in this world, you and I are part of this story. Our life is made possible by the sacrifice of a man we can never repay. A man that saw some thing worth redeeming in this creation. We have to remember that the very God who created the universe looks into the depths of our souls and sees something worth salvaging. There is something mysterious about a God who sees more purpose and beauty in transforming us into a new creation rather than beginning again. There’s a show about tattoos. The premise is that these artists will see clients who have tattoos they received on a dare or an incredibly drunken night and they turn the tattoo into something less shameful. These artists are not just ordinary but incredibly talented people. It’s easy to simply draw a picture on a blank slate but it’s another thing to be given an image and creatively reconstruct it into a new thing entirely. I think that is what God chooses to do with us.
He uses the ugliness of our former lives and in his Holy creativity, he transforms us into a new being entirely.
Just as the ink of a horrible smurf or ex lovers initials will still be on our skin so will the past sins be part of our story, but instead of seeing their hideous reminders, we can see the new creation God made in us. This empowers up to tell our story with unashamed hope.
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