A Broken World

A. Eccl. 1:15, “What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be
numbered.” What somber and sobering statement. Almost drips with such hopeless
pessimism that it is frightening. Yet, at the same time it speaks to guide us toward light
and hope.
(2) Because of the damage sin has done to this world, our hearts will never find what they truly need here. This world is simply not what it was created to be, and to live in it is to hurt deeply and know pain. No one has tasted the bitterness of our experience any more than God Himself. He has lived among us, and when His great heart pondered the magnitude and the hurtfulness of what has gone wrong, in us and in this world, “Jesus wept,” Jno. 11:35.
a. It is foolish to underestimate the brokenness of this world. The wiser we become,
the more we see the utter wretchedness of our earthly condition. Eccl. 1:18, reminds
us that "In much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases
sorrow." Solomon, in his God-given wisdom understood that this world is tragically
and irretrievably broken, and is filled with sorrows.
(A) The fact is this: We cannot have anything more than partial happiness as long
as we live here. Our deepest needs cannot and will not be fully met in this life.
To pretend that’s not true is dangerously dishonest. We'll be better off the
minute we stop denying the hopeless folly of trying to fulfill our unmet needs in
worldly endeavors.
(1) Yet it is also foolish to underestimate God. As much as we need to face this world's brokenness, we need even more, to face the ultimate reality of God.
We must learn to see His mercy as our salvation, His promise as our joy, fix
our hope on His Perfection, not on the imperfection of this world.
b. God's Son did not die to make us healthier, wealthier or happier in this life. He
died to redeem us from the sin that is in our hearts. To give us eternal life. Yes,
God promises us help in this world. But He does not plan to fix this world. What
He plans to fix is us so he bring us to live where He is. God’s plan is to destroy this
world. Read about it in 2 Pet. 3:10-13.
Stop dealing in superficial, sentimental solutions. Only God has the solution to life. Let us let God be God. To know of God without knowing of man's misery keeps you from seeing God. To know of man's misery without knowing of God causes despair. Turn loose of the world and take hold of God.
(3) Acts 20:32.

Spur - 04/06/03 pm