That’s life! Usually, when I hear this statement, it is used negatively. It is often used in the same category as “Murphy’s Law.” Your refrigerator and your car broke down the same week? That’s life! Our culture has grown an unhealthy cynicism that “life” will let us down. Don’t get me wrong; we are usually justified in these assumptions. “When it rains, it pours” is a theme around the Woody household every once in a while. But is that life?
One of the central themes we teach our students at RCS is the Biblical Narrative of the history of the world. The big picture story of the entire Bible can be summed up in 4 chapters: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration.
- God created this world with perfect intention and design (Genesis 1-2).
- Adam’s sin brought sin and death into this world, so we now live in a fallen world tainted by sin’s consequences (Genesis 3).
- But God provides redemption through Jesus’ work on the cross and His people living out the gospel in our lives.
- God will restore all things to His original intention after sin has ultimately been defeated for eternity.
We try to help the students to understand that this Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration storyline is a template that can help us make sense of all aspects of life. Everything we can possibly conceive can be made sense by understanding God’s original intention and design, how a fallen world has tainted it, and how God can use us to redeem it.
There are certain things that just about everyone agrees “ought to be.”
- Children should always outlive their parents.
- Everyone should feel loved and protected.
- Good things should happen to good people, and bad things should happen to bad people.
The reason that we have a concept of how things “ought to be” or “ought not to be” is because eternity is written on our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). God’s original intention and design for life is still possible even in a fallen world. It is only through Jesus that this can be fully accomplished. But what if our “ought to be’s” are tainted?
If you want a vivid example of people’s skewed ideas of what ought to be, look no further than social media. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and others provide an infinite opportunity to see how other people think things should be. Picturesque houses and families with magazine cover-worthy meals and decor while perfect kids score goals, win competitions and get straight A’s. But that’s not life.
Life isn’t perfect. It’s messy. It hurts. It’s uncomfortable. I let my wife down and have to apologize to my kids repeatedly. But because of Jesus’ work in my life and His grace extended to me, I live my life in pursuit of Him. “For the love of Christ constrains us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” – 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
As a Christian, life is living as a redeemed soul, still encapsulated in a sinful body, longing for the day when all of life will be fully and finally restored to its original purpose (that will not happen on this earth).
Life is understanding that God has an original intention and design for everything and submitting to that purpose.
Life is found in enjoying the simple gifts God has given us in and with our families, even though we will let each other down.
Life is living in authentic community with our local churches.
Life is going over that vocab review sheet “just one more time”!
That’s life!