Becoming Human

For various reasons, evangelical Christians managed to give the physical universe a bad wrap. Comments like “it’s all going to burn” were frequently used in my younger Christian days. The reality is that much about the physical universe is, by God’s common grace, good and beautiful. Years ago I remember a Christian song which sang, “Why should the devil have all the good music?” I think a similar song could be sung, “Why should the devil have all of creation?” It is true that cancer, pollution, aging, and relational strife are all signs of the futility creation became subject to with the fall, but it is also true that Christ is presently and for all eternity in human form, that we physically participate in His sacrifice with the bread and wine of communion, and that natural creation testifies of God and His creative power. Followers of Christ are not only being renewed spiritually, but are being prepared for a physical renewal. Some of this renewal can be experienced now and other aspects will be fully realized in the new creation.

I’ll conclude with this quote from Gerhard Forde from page 30 in the book Christian Spirituality...

Instead of viewing ourselves on some kind of journey upward toward heaven, virtue and morality, our sanctification (growing in Christ likeness) would be viewed more in terms of our journey back down to earth, the business of becoming human, the kind of creature God made.