Your Tragic History Matters {Lord’s Day 3} by William Boekestein for Core Christianity
Q. 6. Did God create man so wicked and perverse?
A. No. God created man good and in his own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might truly know God his creator, love him with all his heart, and live with God in eternal happiness, for his praise and glory.Q. 7. Then where does man’s corrupt nature come from?
A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are all conceived and born in sin.Q. 8. But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil?
A. Yes, unless we are born again by the Spirit of God.
What were we like when we were younger? Each of us can ask that question of ourselves. The answers can demystify the past, explain the present, and equip us for the future.
We can also ask that question of the human race. What were people like when we were first born? Studying the present state of humanity, like excavating the ruins of an ancient civilization, doesn’t allow the development of a complete anthropology. Ruins can’t tell us everything about how life used to be. Judging by ruins’ low walls without roofs, we might suspect folks from long ago didn’t value privacy or care about rain coming into their homes. But we aren’t seeing the whole picture.
What if we could learn from the architect? What if we could hear from someone who had been present through the entire human experience? Just as your parents can tell things about you from before you had memory, God can say things about us that we couldn’t know any other way. And you can’t live to your full potential without knowing yourself. So, what can a little history tell us?
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Humanity Had a Good Start
“God made man good and in his own image, that is in true righteousness and holiness” (Gen. 1:27). That fact gives us crucial insight into humanity’s story.
Knowledge of life before the fall helps us take responsibility for sin. We quickly blame God when things go wrong. “Where was God when…?” But sin isn’t his fault. He created us to live in beautiful harmony with himself and others. Where was God when this world became ruined? He was intimately invested in Adam and Eve’s life, surrounding them with good, and warning them against poisoning the world through sin. The fault for this world’s mess is ours. When God allowed the fall, he let us have just what we wanted.
