Result of the Fall: Relational Abyss

Paul Tripp:

"What seemed once unthinkably wrong and out of character for the world that God had made now became a daily experience. Words like falsehood, enemy, danger, sin, destruction, war, murder, sickness, fear, and hatred became regular parts of the fallen-world vocabulary. For the first time, the harmony between people was broken. Shame, fear, guilt, blame, greed, envy, conflict, and hurt made relationships a minefield they were never intended to be. People looked at other people as obstacles to getting what they wanted or as dangers to be avoided. Even families were unable to coexist in any kind of lasting and peaceful union. Violence became a common response to problems that had never before existed. Conflict existed in the human community as an experience more regular than peace. Marriage became a battle for control, and children's rebellion became a more natural response than willing submission. Things became more valuable than people, and they willingly competed with others in order to acquire more. The human community was more divided by love for self than united by love of neighbor. The words of people, meant to express truth and love, became weapons of anger and instruments of deceit. In an instant, the sweet music of human harmony had become the mournful dirge of human war."

Imago Dei

Lewis:

"There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit..."

The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses p.46

I wonder how many times in my self centeredness I've engaged with people flippantly, in favor of my own agenda, or busy schedule, motivation, or intention. What would our relationships look like in our families, friendships, churches, work, and institutions if we internalized this sense of all peoples created in the image of God?

Psalm 133, Brotherhood

Psalm 133 "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore."


Very thankful for brothers to dwell in unity with on this particular day. Thankful for their laughter, joy, perseverance, love of the gospel, stressing of sound doctrine leading to love of people and acts of justice, extensions of grace, personal rebukes, stoicism at some points--emotional at others, constantly pointing fellow brothers back towards the gospel, obsession with Christ crucified, humility, boasting in the gospel, submission to scripture, care for daughters of Christ, determination to fricken grow up into gospel driven men (ya trackin with me?), and the unceasing desire to interweave the truth and love of the gospel of Jesus Christ into the very fabric of their beings, just to name a few among many.

Matt Chandler To Single Men

Counterfeit Love

Some random quotes from the chapter entitled "Love is Not All You Need" from Keller's Counterfeit Gods

"She had come to look to men for the kind of deep affirmation and acceptance that only God can provide. As a result, she became a slave to love."

"We know a good thing has become a counterfeit god when its demands on you exceed proper boundaries."

"An idolatrous attachment can lead you to break any promise, rationalize any indiscretion, or betray any other allegiance, in order to hold on to it...to practice idolatry is to be a slave."

"We look to sex and romance to give us the transcendence and sense of meaning we used to get from faith in God."

"We maintain the fantasy that if we find our one true soul mate, everything wrong with us will be healed. But when our expectations and hopes reach that magnitude, 'the love object is God.' No lover, no human being, is qualified for that role. No one can live up to that. The inevitable result is bitter disillusionment."

"If you are too afraid of love or too enamored by it, it has assumed godlike power, distorting your perceptions and your life."

"Our fears and inner barrenness make love a narcotic, a way to medicate ourselves, and addicts always make foolish, destructive choices."

In the midst of rampant idolatry of love and relationships, I desperately pray that my heart would be utterly overtaken by the following joy-giving, everlasting, exuberant, sufficient truth

"The God of the Bible is the one who comes down into this world to accomplish a salvation and give us a grace we could never attain ourselves. He loves the unwanted, the weak and unloved. He is not just a king and we are the subjects; he is not just a shepherd and we are the sheep. He is a husband and we are his spouse. He is ravished with us."

"Why did he become the man nobody wanted? For you and for me. He took upon himself our sins and died in our place. If we are deeply moved by the sight of his love for us, it detaches our hearts from other would-be saviors. We stop trying to redeem ourselves through our pursuits and relationships, because we are already redeemed. We stop trying to make others into saviors, because we have a Savior."

Colossians 3:1-4 - Your life is hidden with Christ in God... and when Christ who is your life appears, you will appear with him in glory."


"Thou art my loveliness, my life, my light, Beauty alone to me."