This is Ella, so named by our three year old; she’s the newest addition to our neighborhood. I noticed her a couple of weeks ago on the way in to work. Although she’s tiny, she’s pretty hard to miss. Ella’s white coat almost glows in the morning light; she’s small, clean, perfect and bright. All that is good about the world is little Ella. Her mom and dad on the other hand look a little beaten down. In complete juxtaposition to their new born calf, their once white fur is matted and gray. While Ella frolics across the meadow, mommy and daddy cow lie in the grass like slugs. Their eyes even look dull in comparison to hers. What’s true for cows seems also true for us. Life takes the life out of us. Wonder and awe are replaced by apathy and bitterness. The new becomes old and stale; birth gives way to decay and death. Much like the fox in Aesop’s fable, the familiarity and cycle of life leads to contempt.
But Ella represents all that is right with the world. Her spring birth hints of new life and fresh starts. Her clean coat has yet to be tarnished by the mud and junk of life. She even makes this crotchety old bald man smile. Is this not what the original creation was to be like? When God created the cosmos, he paused at the end of each “day” to proclaim, ‘It is good’. And yet, something has gone horribly awry. Because evil entered the world through one man’s sin, the forces of entropy, chaos, dissolution and decay trump creation. God’s good creation is in a state of rebellion. And so, very soon, we’ll drive by Ella and her beautiful white coat will be shades darker, fleas and ticks will infest her body, the spring in her hooves will be gone and she’ll choose to lie around in the grass conserving energy instead of exploring her world with the wide-eyed wonder of a new born. It’s sad really; all of us go through this decomposing metamorphosis. Our own bodies wage war against us, healthy blood cells develop ravenous cancer, normal brains turn neurotic and once pure blood becomes contaminated. The shrapnel from living in a fallen world deeply embeds our minds, hearts and souls. Thomas Hardy’s lament captures our seemingly hopeless trajectory:
I look into my glass,
And view my wasting skin,
And say, ‘Would God it come to pass
My heart had shrunk as thin!’…
But Time, to make me grieve,
Part steals, lets part abide;
And shakes this fragile frame at eve
With throbbings of noontide.
But this is only part of the story. Understanding and living according to the Biblical worldview requires us to see life, the world and the cosmos within the context of a grand story working her way through to fulfillment, a fulfillment that has been promised and will be accomplished by God Himself. This narrative has a beginning, middle and end; an end that launches a new beginning. The kairos aim of creation is the coming of Jesus within the checkered story of Israel, of his life, death and bodily resurrection completing the eternal expression of God’s love by reconciling the world back to Him. Therefore, the redemptive paradox of the cross not only saves the perishing, but begins the process of restoring and remaking God’s good creation. By dealing with evil once and for all, Christ’s sacrifice “announces that what God did for Jesus at Easter he will do not only for all those who are ‘in Christ’ but also for the entire cosmos. It will be an act of new creation.”[i] This theology of new creation finds itself birthed and all grown up in the writings of the Apostle Paul:
The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next…All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance…the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy…God knew what he was doing from the very beginning…The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.
Romans 8: 19-29
As the Northern Hemisphere tilts her head toward the sun, creation is reborn. With every bloom of daffodil, crocus and cherry; with every birth of calf, colt and gosling, God is making good on his promise to give birth to a new creation from the womb of the old. Though little Ella will eventually age and sully, her life reminds us yet again of John the Seer’s promise. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is now with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new!’”
Come quickly Lord Jesus.
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