Am I Really Broken?
Everyday in our culture, there are challenges to the gospel. Was Jesus real? Did he really die? Do you actually believe he came to life again?
But recently, I’ve noticed another challenge sneaking up. It’s not about how someone gets saved but whether we actually need saving at all.
I watched a video by a guy with cerebral palsy asking the question “Should I want to be fixed?” I write this not to call the guy out but because he asked some good questions that are worth considering.
For the most part, he was simply looking at the benefits of certain treatments to alleviate symptoms in the absence of a cure. But then came the conclusion. If I could be fixed, should I even want to be?
Let’s be clear. People with cerebral palsy are wonderful people and at the same time they have a condition involving the development of or damage to their brain. But our culture struggles to hold these truths at the same time. We are desperate to accept people for who they are - which is a good thing. But in doing so, we have collapsed our value and our health into the same thing. As such, it becomes offensive to call an aspect of ourselves imperfect - it feels like we are insulting our very identity.
Moreover, if our worldview has no future hope, we have to make the most of here and now. If this is all there is, we should embrace it and call it good.
As Christians, we offer something better in both cases.
We believe that every single human being is made in the image of God irrespective of age, stage, size, or condition. The person in front of you has inherent and infinite dignity, value and worth. The way we treat them is a reflection of how we treat God.
Secondly, we don’t need to pretend there’s nothing wrong. We can call out sickness as part of the fallen world. When we sense that things are not the way they should be, God agrees with us. You’re right, pain and suffering are real but it’s not the way things should be.
That’s the reason Jesus came. On the cross he paid the price for our sin and when we rose again, he gave us the sure hope that he will one day raise us too with bodies better than they have ever been and prepared to live forever in the suffering-free world he is bringing about. That’s the nature of Christian hope.
That’s the beauty of the gospel. Humanity is more valuable, this world is more broken and our hope is more incredible that any of us could imagine. This is why our culture’s posture here is so dangerous—it dulls our desire for Jesus!
Where are you noticing the consequences of the fall being minimised? I wonder what God might lead you to do as you pray about that. Is there a question you could ask to promote conversation that moves people towards seeing Jesus afresh today?
Grace and peace,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>