The World We Speak of But Do Not Know

From the 8/31/16 Weekly Update by Tim Keller

An airliner falls out of the sky, the innocent victim of a bomb.

129 are murdered in Paris on a single Friday night.

An Attorney General is disgraced and a series of state officials are embarrassed by their pornographic emails.

A group of South Carolina church members are murdered in their church while engaged in a Bible study.

A man is shot three blocks from our church and then refused to cooperate with the local police in apprehending his attacker.

A heroin epidemic sweeps the nation as dozens are dying on a regular basis from overdoses.

In the wake of recent events it would appear that our world is falling apart at the seams. Violence and bloodshed are rampant and the fabric of many societies would appear to be fraying. Christians and non-Christians alike can readily identify the fact that if our world were a car it would be limping along with one tire missing.

Certainly this is not the way it should be, right?

Listen carefully to conversations and you’ll quickly pick up on a common habit of those impacted by the decaying world in which they reside. We often speak of a world that doesn’t exist.

“A person ought to be safe in their own home in a town like Carlisle.” Yet, they are not.

“Public officials should put the needs of the population before their own greed.” Yet, they often do not.

“People attending a concert shouldn’t have to fear for their lives.” Yet, they did.

“It isn’t fair.” Yet, injustice rolls on.

“We shouldn’t have to take in refugees.” Yet, the mammoth need exists.

There resides in each of us a mental image of a world that is devoid of pain, bloodshed, murder, illness and injustice. We sense that the blatant racism that plagues our culture shouldn’t be there. Yet, it is.

It is the image of a different world that intrigues me; as if a fish has a picture of a dry climate even though he has never been out of the water. Where did he ever get such a notion unless it was planted in him at some point by a master creator?

Every time you hear someone speak of the inequality of this world or the pain, they are subconsciously testifying to a perfected state that exists only in their mind or heart. They have never known such a place, yet they long to visit it and even dwell there.

The world we refer to does exist as clearly as our own broken world exists. It is the dwelling place of God and its perfection is proclaimed in all the Scriptures.

The good news is that, because of the mercy of God, it is an address we will be able to move to someday; not because of our suffering or even our attempts at righteousness, but because God has made it possible by the blood of His own Son.

The next time you hear a friend or co-worker express dismay about the state of our wicked world, you might ask them this question: If I told you of a place where there was no violence, no death, no injustice, no fear, no crime, no sickness, and no pain, would you be interested in learning how to get there?

Prayerfully give it a shot and watch Jesus go to work.