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Break Down

Writer's picture: Andy NeillieAndy Neillie


Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 4/13)

 

I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m good once as I ever was,

May not be good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.

-       Toby Keith, As Good As I Once Was

 

If you are a country music fan, you’ve got this Toby Keith song bouncing around in your head right now. But even if you don’t know the song, for most of us there are certain things where we remember being better back then than we are right now.

 

April 15th and May 2nd

A number of years ago – on my 30th birthday (April 15th) I bench-pressed 315 pounds. Two weeks later at a local running event, I ran a sub-42-minute 10k. Both were very significant accomplishments for me! And . . . I’ve never been able to match either of those achievements since.

 

Things break down

Fast forward a few years: hip problems led to surgery and chronic low-grade back issues. I’m back in the gym consistently now, but probably won’t ever be what I was physically. How about you? Do you remember, “the good old days?” BTW: Are you currently in the prime of your athletic capabilities? I’ve got bad news for you: decline is coming!!

 

Spiritual, Relational and Physical Entropy

A physicist defines “Entropy” as “things are always in a state of decline.”  A theologian would go further: entropy is a result of the fall of man. God set mankind up for success in the Garden of Eden, but mankind’s choice to act as our own gods introduced entropy to our world, and it has been downhill since. We became estranged from God, other people and even ourselves. Accidents happen. Injuries occur. Relationships are broken. According to the Bible, our lives are often full of “mourning, crying and pain.”

 

It wasn’t supposed to be that way; it won’t be that way in the future

God hates entropy. Indeed, when he finished all of creation, he reflected on what he had created and said, “This is very good.” Entropy had no place in the Garden of Eden. But when mankind broke trust with God, decline started with their first sin, and God stepped off the stage. Humanity left the garden, and entropy has been at play ever since.

 

But a better day is coming. 

At the end of the Bible’s final book, we see the picture of God returning to fully restore all things.  Here’s the vision the author of Revelation shared with us in Revelation 21:3-4:

 

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself with be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

 

A better day is coming and can start today

Having a view of this wonderful future has empowered Christians for thousands of years to restore glimpses of Eden by fighting against spiritual and relational decline.  As followers of Christ, that is the hope we bring to our world. “The former things have passed away” can be previewed around us as we invite God back onto center stage of our lives.

 

Questions for Reflection:

How does this world conspire against keeping you connected to God and yourself?

 

Where can you and God reverse spiritual entropy in your life and around you?

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