There is an enemy to human existence. There is an enemy unleashed in the earth, who is hostile to the image of God - malignant towards the image of God that walks about upon the face of it.
Sometimes, this enemy co-opts for its own evil designs the very human beings created to bear their Maker's image. And that is the sad, sad part. That is the ultimate degradation of imago Dei and the ultimate insult to the Creator.
Though evil sometimes wears a human face, though it has often worn a human face for thousands of years or more, our battle is not with flesh and blood.
But without this delight, without an unshakeable, unbendable, stubborn willing of our inmost being to be happy in all God is, all He gives, all He does - without inner delight dwarfing outside evil - joy dissipates.
Where joy is in absentia - (known to exist, but not present within) - strength is also absent.
It is time to put evil in perspective. I tremble to write these words, because we all hope against what feel to be overwhelming odds. But I will write it:
Evil has its limits.
Though the pain of evil scrapes out the interior of our hearts, leaving us feeling wounded and thin and without strong walls of defense, the weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
At the end of the day, at the close of your day-to-day fight to delight in God, you have a promise: evil is only sufficient for a day.
"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34
I've heard it said that God operates out of abundance, the enemy operates out of a budget. I know this is an unexpected perspective on Matthew 6:34, but I believe it is Biblical.
The enemy is the one on a budget. You are limitlessly resourced. Joy comes in the morning, no matter what this day brings. Your God is all-sufficient, and your sufficiency is of Him.
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God
Evil has a short shelf life. On this we can depend. On this we can hope.
On this we can act: we can live and love and dream big dreams and look far beyond today with a hopeful heart. We can plant trees, literally and metaphorically. We can build houses and inhabit them and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them, even when all around us we see nothing but death and captivity.
Our sufficiency is from God.
Evil has a short shelf life. On this we can depend. On this we can hope.
On this we can act: we can live and love and dream big dreams and look far beyond today with a hopeful heart. We can plant trees, literally and metaphorically. We can build houses and inhabit them and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them, even when all around us we see nothing but death and captivity.
Our sufficiency is from God.
(another great explanation of Imago Dei is found here)
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