Glorious Ruin
Though now long estranged,
Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed,
Disgraced he may be, yet is not dethroned,
And keeps the rags of lordship once he owned.~ J.R.R. Tolkein, Mythopoeia
Dr. Francis Schaeffer has described the condition of human beings as “glorious ruins.” We are glorious because we were created by God for the noble purpose of being His image bearers; yet we are ruins because sin has marred the divine image we were designed to display, at times seemingly beyond recognition.
John Stott picks up the theme and speaks candidly, with raw honesty: I am a Jekyll and Hyde, a mixed-up kid, having both dignity, because I was created in God’s image and depravity, because I am fallen and rebellious. I am both noble and ignoble, beautiful and ugly, good and bad, upright and twisted, image of God and slave of the Devil . . . We must be fearless in affirming all that we are by creation and ruthless in disowning all that we are by the Fall.
Nowhere is the paradox of our humanity more on display than in our relationships with one another. On a macro level we bless one another, care for the poor, and work for the common good of our neighbor, but we also lie, cheat, steal, hate and plot others downfall. Closer to home we love and we fight. We desire the best but often disagree on how to achieve it. We are wounded and we wound. These difficulties arise in every sphere of life, in every stage of life, and often threaten to overwhelm us. The good news is that God's people can respond Biblically to these relational difficulties by thinking clearly about the root causes of our difficulties, learning the Gospel skills necessary to move forward in a healthy manner, and experiencing God’s love that empowers us to live leaning on the resources the Gospel provides.
This is the course we have charted for the next four weeks of adult institute. We have a great team* of folks sharing wisdom, prayer, and expertise hoping to help us find glory in the ruins along the way.
*March Series Team: Miriam Engler, Sara Ingram, Joelle McCormick, Jake Nienhuis, Jerry Stutzman, Andrew Vander Maas, Shinji Yasugi.