I recently realized that I’ve been telling myself a lie. I’m not sure when this started, but I know it’s gone on for years. Maybe even most of my life. And as is the case for most, if not all, of the lies we tell ourselves repeatedly, I believed it.
The Unscathed Life: Part I
The lie? I thought that I could get through this life relatively unscathed. My thinking went something like, Hardship is for others. That won’t happen to me. That’s not for me. But the reality is that scars are collateral damage for living.
It seems to me that this weed of a lie sprouted in the soil of the American dream and was fertilized by the many comforts we enjoy.
Neither the American dream or our comforts are bad things in and of themselves. We should give thanks for them. But if they cultivate lies we are tempted to believe, or if we begin to feel entitled to them, or if they become ultimate things, then we best beware.
A continuum of comfort doesn’t run parallel to a continuum of godliness. An unscathed life does not mean it was a successful life. It doesn't even mean it was a truly blessed life. That only comes through the Word of God (Ps. 1; Jn. 1).
The First Adam
We have a difficult time with contentment. None of us need much time to think before we can identify an area of discontent. From our phones to our physiques, from our vocations to our vacations, we only need to cast our minds about.
But lest we think we would be free of this problem if we possessed all our needs and wants, we need only read the first few chapters of Genesis to see that this isn’t so.
Adam and Eve found themselves living in a world filled with things that God made and called good (Gen. 1). All together, God called it very good (Gen. 1:31). It doesn’t get much better than that from the One who is the definition of good (Ps. 34:8).
Over this good world, God gave His image-bearers free rein. He blessed them, directed them, and gave everything into their hands. There was just one commandment they were to obey. In a world of positive imperatives, there was just one negative. Through this, discontent soon found its way into their hearts.
When Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they disobeyed the LORD. This was sin, and there is no doubt that their discontentment played a part in it. Their actions show that they weren’t satisfied with being image-bearers of God—they wanted to be God. That was the one thing out of their reach, so they rebelled.
Genesis 3:4-6
[4] But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [6] So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
We know what happened next. Since being exiled from Eden, mankind has longed to go back. This seems only natural, but if we’re honest with ourselves, I think this desire is less noble than we would like to admit. Is it not just more discontentment?
The first Adam had every reason to be content with Eden, but he wasn’t. He represented all mankind, and we have all inherited his discontent and then some. At the fall, we fell hard. Left to ourselves, we will never find freedom from our sinful nature.
The Last Adam
Thankfully there is a second Adam to represent us before God. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. If we trust Him as our Savior and Lord, He breaks the chains of our sin and clothes us in His righteousness. He lived in perfect obedience, went to the cross, plunged through death, was buried, and rose again!
This was the great victory of history. But He didn’t win it to take us back to the beginning. He’s not content with Eden. Our King still wears His scars.
Jesus will make everything sad untrue, but He will do so without making it like it never happened. He will wipe our tears, but He won’t wipe our memories. We will remember who we were while living out who we were always meant to be. We will remember what was while we are firmly established in what is. We will know the peaks of glory better there because we’ve known the valleys of shadow here.
The Lord isn’t taking us back to a garden, He’s taking us to a city. A city designed by God Himself (Heb. 11:10). A city so perfect that I expect it will be mistaken for a garden. He's taking us to what Eden had the potential to become, and it will be even more glorious.
The Unscathed Life: Part II
It’s difficult to learn contentment in a fallen world. We know it’s not supposed to be like this. Yet any living we’re given remains a gift, and it is to be highly valued. Even when we are keenly aware that we are broken vessels.
But it's broken vessels that can be made whole with mercy and grace. It's broken vessels that are filled with the treasure that is the glory of God (2 Cor. 4:6). It's broken vessels that demonstrate the surpassing power of the LORD (2 Cor. 4:7).
I have a future hope, and it’s not in a return to Eden. Until then, I don’t want to stay in the shallows. I want to be where the living is deep. Jars of clay aren’t meant to be packed away. They are meant to be filled up and poured out.
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