The Life We Long to Live

But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

Genesis 3:8-13

As a young boy, I remember my mom introducing me to an egg-shaped character by the strange name of Humpty Dumpty. The words of this popular nursery rhyme still echo through my mind. “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.”

Like Humpty Dumpty, we, too, have had a great fall. We, too, are badly broken, yet we long for our Humpty Dumpty lives to be put back together again. Is there hope for us to become whole again? Is it possible to live the life we truly long to live? I believe we can. I believe we can embrace a life filled with hopeful realism, one that allows us to avoid shattered utopian dreams as well as numbing nihilistic despair.

A closer look at the Bible presents to us an unsurpassable story through which we can see and make sense of the world. The Bible is a story of both tragedy and triumph and a surprising hero—Jesus of Nazareth—who makes it possible for us to become whole again, to live the life we truly long to live. The beginning of the biblical story is found in the first two chapters of Genesis where we are introduced to God as Creator who makes a good and perfect world, one that is integral and whole. But when we come to the third chapter of Genesis, our story takes a dramatic turn. Suddenly we encounter a massive disintegration of God’s good world. Adam and Eve, the first humans, join in a cosmic rebellion against God. Sin, corruption, brokenness, and death enter God’s good creation, and God’s created order implodes. God’s good world is vandalized, and his image bearers experience broken Humpty Dumpty lives.

Yet even in the midst of such tragic news, there is good news to come in our story. Though we are broken, we continue to bear an unbroken image of an integral God who does not abandon us but launches a plan of redemption to restore us, the glistening crown of his creation, to the wholeness we were designed to know and experience.

BIBLE PASSAGE:

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:8-13

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Where in your life do you experience brokenness? Do you feel a sense of hope that God will make you whole again? What do you truly long for in life?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, our good and perfect Creator. You have created us in your image, and though we have rebelled against you and taken a very bad fall, you have not abandoned us in our brokenness. Instead you have loved us with a costly love and made it possible for our restoration in Christ. In your goodness and mercy, restore us to the life we long to live. Amen.

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Jubilee: Everything Matters

For the past seven years, The High Calling has supported the Jubilee Conference, an annual gathering of thousands of college students learning how to worship God with their whole lives. Whether a person is interested in engineering and science or art and music, law and politics or medicine and mission, justice and families or college life and the years to come, Jubilee has someone speaking about what it means to be involved in those places faithfully. This week, The High Calling offers a special collection of articles, videos, and reflections to serve the students and campus ministers who attended Jubilee. Join the Jubilee and learn how to worship God with your whole life.

Featured image by Cindee Snider Re. Used with Permission. Source via Flickr.