Reading the Bible can seem confusing. Immerse yourself in one part and you’ll wonder if there’s an ounce of goodness in us:
The LORD looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
not a single one (Psalm 14:3 – NLT)!
Flip to another and you’ll stand in awe of our human potential:
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it (Psalm 139:13,14 – NLT).
So which is it? Am I entirely corrupt, or wonderfully complex? Incapable of doing good, or a marvelous work of God?
Am I a slug or a superstar?
Preachers can be of little help on this. One declares we’re all slugs God can’t wait to step on. Another insists we’re all superstars just waiting to discover our moment.
Who’s right? Which is it?
Which should I focus on: my depravity or my potential?
There are days when I’m genuinely impressed with how I’ve lived. I’m startled by some flash of wisdom, some sacrificial act of generosity, or some diligent effort I’ve extended.
There are those days… and then there are lots of others. Days when I’m disheartened by my own foolishness, surprised by my stinginess, and stunned into silence by my self-absorption.
In fact, sometimes I experience both extremes in the same day.
How can someone so evil soar to such heights? How can someone with such promise sink to such depths?
A few days ago, I was reading the book of Isaiah (much of which is not exactly complimentary toward the basic human condition). I came upon this verse in Isaiah 41:
‘Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob,
don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you (14 – NLT).
Only God can get away with calling us a worm. And only God can offer such an incredible promise at the same time. We’re depraved, but he’s gifted us with potential. We’re sinful, but he’s shaping us more and more into the image of his Son. We’re foolish, but he’s filled us with wisdom.
If I’m a worm, I’m a worm God has lovingly saved, scooping me up off the sidewalk just in time before I withered and died in my bad decisions. Not only that, but I’m a worm that’s being changed into something else entirely; something decidedly un-worm-like.
I’m a slug who’s becoming a superstar.
And so are you.
yes despite being a worm God loves us..so much so that his purpose for us (humans) is that we were made that he could love us.
Posted by: kees | June 16, 2011 at 02:49 AM