The house did not fall because it had been founded on rock Matthew 7:25

Thought I might start this blog as a means of capturing my thoughts as we all go through an unprecedented situation. This is a bit new to me as I’m not used to writing in this style – so if anyone’s reading this please bear with me!

I was speaking with someone the other day who was having some doubts about who Jesus was. I get that! When things around us look like they’re falling apart where do we go? And how do we know that whoever we turn to is going to be able to help? Aren’t they in the same place as us?
We went back to basics, and walked through a series of arguments/conclusions that I’d covered in the Bible series earlier this year. (Part of the TFW Equip series – podcast link here). And the inescapable conclusion is that Jesus lived, said the things attributed to him, died and rose again.  
We’re facing a world-wide crisis that we’ve not seen the like of before. Naturally there are going to be questions and doubts. Why is this happening? Where is God? Will he protect us? Can we trust him? And what are we to trust him for? How is my faith relevant in the face of losing my job, my health? And many more. 
Maybe it would be good to go back to basics. To remind ourselves of what we know to be true. 
In my series, we showed how we know that the Bible is the Word of God.

I’ll take that as a given, but I’ll put the content in another blog soon.
Meanwhile I’m interested in the big picture – how God gives us the explanation for the world we live in.

At the start, the Bible describes:

• A ‘very good’ creation. 
• With men and women being made ‘in the image of God’. 
• The first man and woman were given a paradise to live in. 
• They walked with God and they were free. 
• There was only one prohibition, and they chose to break it. 

A simple story, but one with profound consequences. The breaking of that prohibition demonstrated a rebellion. It’s been called ‘cosmic treason’. That’s because they chose to rebel against the infinite, perfect, creator, holy God who would have been perfectly just to destroy them on the spot.
But he didn’t.
He chose rather to let them live and send another to take the punishment.
But they were subject to a curse.
That curse brought death after a limited lifespan.
It damaged relationships – God and man*, man and man, man and himself
But is also damaged the whole creation – animals also die, there are now ‘thorns and thistles’, even the very ground is cursed.
This account is the very words of God. It is truth, which is true however we might feel.
So a key foundational truth here is that the world as we now know it is not how it was originally intended.
Death, disease, corruption are now features of our world.
But they are intruders. They will not last because God, who cursed the world, will also lift the curse. And that is an act of Love and Justice.
Love – because he has sent another to take the punishment for the crime.
Justice, because crimes have to be paid for.
Jesus’ death on the cross represents supreme love in taking the supreme punishment for the supreme crime. And his resurrection declares that the price has been paid. Death is now conquered. Now the curse can be lifted. 
The first man, Adam, was our representative, so by birth we inherit his cursed status. But Jesus can become our new representative by second birth, by faith. Whereupon we inherit his status as the Son of God.
Meanwhile we live in a world that is still waiting for the curse to be lifted. Which will surely happen. Until then it is a painful place. But understanding that surely helps us to live in it. Take a look at Romans 8:18-25

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For ^yin this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
There is a ‘glory’ yet to come. It will be even better than the original paradise – because even the threat of rebellion will have gone. It is certain – because it was God who placed the curse and it is God who lifts the curse. 
That brings us onto the Sovereignty of God – but that will have to wait for another one of these!
Meanwhile – we live in hope. Because it is a sure and certain hope we can live with confidence and therefore in peace. That doesn’t make it easy, and we have to be patient. And while we are waiting we continue to grow in our faith. 
John, in his first letter puts this into the context of our hope (1 John 3:1-3):
¹ See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Those in Christ are greatly loved. We have been brought into God’s family and can call him ‘Father’.

And for now, of course we have a great deal of practical issues to sort out. Of course we need to look out for one another and our neighbours.
But let’s also take time to go back to our foundations, to see the bigger picture, so we might be building our lives on solid rock.

* (I use the ‘man’ in the generic sense of men and women – it’s too hard to use neutral language!).