It seems that more and more in our world things just aren’t right—one group fighting against another, increasingly vile rhetoric, etc….

​

According to the Bible (Genesis 1 and 2), it wasn’t always this way —God created a stunningly beautiful world in which the first people lived in perfect relationship with him and each other.

​

But those perfect relationships were torn apart when the people rejected God’s clear commands in favor of living as they saw fit.

​

When we as people, whether back in Genesis or this day, reject God and his commands (when we sin) we experience the damaging results in a myriad of ways: separation from him, broken relationships, crime, and warfare.  While we might try to be good and do good, our efforts still fall far short of God’s perfect holiness and justice, so as a result, humanity is not able to re-establish a right relationship to him or heal our social and personal relationships.

​

We see these consequences of sin every day, but the Bible provides good news!  God showcases his mercy and goodness, and how he truly is the ultimate Author of all that’s beautiful…

​

The very good news—the Gospel—is that God, at great cost to himself, made a way to restore our relationship to himself by his son, Jesus, dying on the cross in our place.  Jesus, as both perfect God and perfect man, took on the just punishment for our active rebellion or passive indifference to him, and gave to us his right standing with God.  This “great exchange” is good news!  He did for us what we can’t do for ourselves.  So, what’s left for us is to turn from our own independent way (repent) and trust him and what he has done for us through Jesus.

​

This restored relationship then in turn enables us to have restored relationship not only with God, but also with each other.  While nothing will be perfect on earth, our hope for full restoration and being reunited with our Creator in heaven can be fueled as we see glimpses of his beauty here on earth.  May you be most satisfied in and enjoy the Author of the good, the true, and the beautiful!