The End of the Story... Unless?

Dear Faith Family,   

 

"And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth… But I will establish my covenant with you…’” (Genesis 6:13,18)

Through the season of Lent, we are sharing The Story of Sin because, in doing so, we are also telling the story of humanity. A story that reveals both our struggles and our hope in being and becoming who we are made to be. For we cannot discuss sin—life off-course, ways of living that lead not to goodness but to destruction, without also telling the story of salvation.

Our stories are inseparable from the story of sin, and they are equally connected to God’s response and redemption. After all, as our final kingdom epiphany and the proverb that followed revealed, it is in the midst of the shared struggle and persisting hope of living where God is most active, and where we participate in life full and forever. 

As the story of sin unfolds in the Genesis narrative, and as we discussed on Sunday, we seem to be moving further and further away from the good life we were made for. Still, there remains an expectant hope that our plight can be overcome, that indeed we can be rescued from ourselves. Yet, the truth of the matter is that life-off-the-mark is unescapable, and utterly destructive: 

"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt (decaying), for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." (Genesis 6:5,11-12)



Discontent and decaying, our terminus is destruction. At least if left to ourselves. At least unless a new way of relating is introduced. A way of partnering with God that will lead not to our mere rescue but our being reborn, made into a new people, blessed to bless all people. 

Amid our utter decay, at our most dehumanized and most desperate point in our plight, God does something new: He covenants with us. 

‘The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth… But I will establish my covenant with you…’” (Genesis 6:13,18)



Covenant, the establishment of a relationship between two partners who make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal. From here in Genesis 6 to the last supper when Jesus raised the wine and said, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood," (Luke 22:20); God's covenanting becomes the means of humanity becoming, again, who and what we are made to be. A regulating relationship that ensures restoration. 

While this is where God's covenant will lead, the story of sin in Genesis exhorts us to consider not only God's means of remaking, but our unescapable propensity for decay. In the story of sin and redemption, we are to hold both in tension as we ask the question of the Lenten season: In the light of the Kingdom, are there any ways in which we are still walking in the darkness? 

Here is how you and I can walk in the light of our struggle and our hope today, and the remainder of the week: 

TODAY

  • Prayerfully and slowly, and with the inescapability of our corruption on your mind, read Isaiah 58:1-12, letting the exhortation of the LORD sink into your heart and mind. 


THURSDAY

In what ways do I hope for rescue, not rebirth? 
&

Where have I recognized God's patient mercy in my maturation? 


FRIDAY

  • Prayerfully, slowly, and with the concept of "covenant" as God's gracious means of maturation atop your mind, read Matthew 25:14-46, letting the parable & proverb of JESUS sink into your soul. 


SATURDAY

  • Spend ten minutes asking and letting God do what Psalm 139:23-24 encourages: 

"Search me, O God, and know my heart! 
Examine me, and know my disquieted thoughts! 
See if there be any grievous way in my living,
And lead me in the way ancient and everlasting!"


Love you faith family. God bless.