By David ReayMonday 9 Nov 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read 2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (NIV)
Most of us can admit that the human race is not as it should be. We might be capable of great things but we are also capable of monstrous things. To many, the solution to this is more education. If we only taught people better they would become better. But even in highly educated societies human beings go horribly wrong.
Others point to the political and economic system. Get better government, organise the economy better, and we will all get better. The problem here is that whoever governs us or reorders the economy is also a fallible human being. Capitalists and communists, neo-conservatives and socialists, all are only human systems and cannot get to the heart of what is wrong with us.
This is not to despise the value of education. And nor do we overlook the fact that some political systems can work better than others and some individual leaders can lead us into better things. But the problem lies deeper than all this. The Bible calls it ‘sin’ or our assertion of independence from God. As Jesus says, we need to be born again. As Paul says, we are to become new creatures from inside.
By all means let’s make the world a better place by any means possible. But don’t forget that our basic problem can only be dealt with by an embrace of the grace of God and an intent to go his way with his help. As has been said, we are not imperfect creatures in need of some improvement. We are rebels who need to lay down our arms.
Blessings
David Reay