Humans as a race have this fundamental problem -- sin. One and only one person in the entire history of the world has lived a life without it. Jesus "knew no sin" (2 Cor 5:21). He was "tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Heb 4:15). The only one. A universal problem would seem to need a universal cause. What would that be? Well, for us English speakers, the hint is in the word. What, in English, is at the center of "sin"? "I," of course. And there you have it.
Humans are naturally anthropocentric. That means that our center is "man" (human, not male). More precisely, it is "this human" -- "me." It has been said that we are idol factories. We turn them out at an amazing rate, from sun, moon, and every natural thing to ideas (e.g., science) or ideology (e.g., LGBTx). We got a million of 'em. But in the end they all rotate around "me." Which, as it turns out, is the actual opposite of what God intended.
Look, this isn't a great mystery. What did Jesus consider the two commandments? Love God and love your neighbor (Matt 22:36-40). "On these two commandments," He concluded, "depend the whole Law and the Prophets" (Matt 22:40). Notice the trajectory of these two -- outward. Not inward. Not "me." They consist of "God" and "the rest of you," but not "me." There is no command to love myself. So the fundamental issue in sin -- "missing the mark" -- is all of our inward facing lives. It is in this trajectory that we constantly fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). It is "me." It is "self." It is whenever I get ... selfish. Something to consider.
1 comment:
I like what you did there with the title. So true that we are the source of our problem.
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