Standing on the edge of Sydney’s Blue Mountains, it is easy to see that the world is pretty awesome, reminding us of the Creator and what he has done.  However, according to scripture the world we live in is a corrupted version of the original creation.

When Adam sinned, it wasn’t a problem for him alone, but for all humanity after him, and along with it all creation was plunged into pain.  God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.  It will produce thorns and thistles for you.” (Genesis 3:17-18a) 

Later in the book of Romans, Paul described the fall using these words, “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own voice, but by the will of the one who subjected it…. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” (Romans 8:20&22) 

The creation we know, the Earth and the Universe as we see it, is like a corrupted hard drive on a computer.  It doesn’t work properly and is not what was originally built.  

One could say that humanity has had a significant impact on the environment.  

There is a lot of debate today about climate change and the environment.  The temperature seems to be gradually warming, and the question is whether this is good or bad, and caused by people or by natural causes.  

But the original environmental devastation was certainly of human origin, and incredibly destructive.  The world we are living in now is a shadow of previous version.  

So… If you ever hear someone say how beautiful the world is, and how finely tuned it is, and how it is evidence of a Creator.  They are speaking the truth.

And… you may also hear someone else say how the world could not have been created because it is full of death, disease, wars, predators, natural disasters and more.  They are kind of telling the truth too, because the world we live in isn’t the world that was created.  So both points of view are correct.

What is left for us to do?  Fall on the mercy of God, and find your way back to Him.  It is the beginning of a wonderful walk with the creator of life. 

The Bible is full of language that sounds clear, but turns out to have another meaning.  It’s straightforward once you know what the true meaning or meanings are, and we can recognize that the disciples were confused by this at times, but so often we ourselves get confused too, but often we don’t realise that we are.

A great example of double language is in John’s gospel where Jesus tells his disciples “I have food you don’t know about” (John 4:32)  That comment sparked a conversation about his apparent hidden food and how he got it without them knowing.  Preachers often label this type of thing figurative or metaphorical language, and observe that Jesus often had special spiritual meanings behind his use of everyday language.  

Can I suggest to you that Jesus is not trying to use regular words to hide a special meaning, but instead trying to explain a deep and much more real thing, by using something we relate to.  

Imagine someone born blind, and not having any idea of what light was or what the colors were.  If you had the task of explaining it to them you would try to relate something to them they did understand.  So you would perhaps use the volume and types of sounds to explain brightness and the types of colours.  In reality sound and sight are quite different, but to the blind only knowing one of the things, the other is a “greater reality” which we try to convey to them.  We have to use something similar to point to something a bit different but greater and hard to understand.  

God in the Bible, and Jesus in person both used language like this from the very first chapters of the Bible to speak to us.  But rather than seeing it as an attempt to hide meaning, is it an attempt to explain something much greater using earthly analogies.  There are things going on in the mind and heart of God, but we are much to earthly to get a sense of them, and yet there isn’t any way of explaining them except in terms of things we understand.  For this reason the Jews of Christ’s day thought he was coming as a physical king to sit on a physical throne.  But Christ has a different type of kingdom in mind.  Today there are many people who are still waiting for Christ to come and sit on a physical throne, and waiting for a third physical temple to be built, and waiting for a new Jerusalem that they believe is physical and will come out of heaven.  So often we cling to the apparent meaning, and don’t see the thing which is more real.  

In Genesis 2:17, God said to Adam not to eat the fruit of a certain tree, saying “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”  In the next chapter both Adam and Eve did eat from that tree, but both continued to live in the way we are accustomed to thinking of living.  So in what way had they died?

It turns out that there is a death worse than the death we are familiar with.  Or there is a death that is more real than the reality of death we know of.  In other words there are two types of death.  Scripture actually does talk about the first death and the second death.  Being thrown into the lake of fire is “the second death.”  (Revelation 20:6)  There are also two resurrections, or two lifes we might say.  The first resurrection is when we are born again and our spirit lives for the first time.  Prior to that we are “dead in our sins.”  The second resurrection is the one that happens on that grand final day when Christ returns.  The first death is the physical death of our bodies, but the second death is the permanent separation from God.  But in a sense many people are already dead with that second death, because they are not alive to God.  

So there is double language used of almost everything in the Bible.  We are told in John 6 to “eat my flesh,” which many have equated to physical things, believing that the communion host actually turns into Jesus body, rather than noting a greater reality at work.  Jesus said he was building another temple, but it is the joining of the lives of his people together… a building not made of hands, which is a supremely more significant thing than another middle-eastern building project.  

The problem with double language is that we think we know what it means, and we settle for the superficial meaning, and don’t find the greater reality of what God is doing.  God is trying to get our attention with big things. 

In ancient times human life held little value. Indeed gladiatorial games were even held for entertainment in which people were killed for sport. There was no Emporer more depraved than Commodus when it came to the arena. If someone had suffered a cardiac arrest during a game – it would probably not have raised an eyebrow.

Later in 391AD or so, Telemachius jumped the fence at what was believed to be the Colosseum to try and stop a fight to the death. He was himself killed, but becamse the catalyst for the banning of gladiatorial contests. His Christian values came from scripture, and the teachings of Christ that people do have value because of being made in God’s image.

Sport now exists in many forms, for the purpose of entertainment, with American football (NFL) being an example of a high-risk physical sport where players are routinely injured, hence the helmets that must be worn. Physical contests like the NFL, Rugby, Boxing, Wrestling and more are the closest thing we have to the games of ancient times.

On January 2nd, 2023, in an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinatti Bengals, Damar Hamlin was hit in a heavy tackle and dropped to the ground experiencing cardiac arrest. He was resucitated onfield, and taken away in a ambulance and the game was then cancelled. The below image shows his team plus others praying for him, as an ambulance takes him away. Others at the stadium including players and supporters of the other team where in prayer too.

At the same time, even before an ambulance had arrived, posts like this below exploded all over the internet.

Within hours the amount of posts about people praying was in the millions. People who don’t even have faith were saying prayers.

Even news agencies were calling for prayer:

And the Buffalo Bills official website – requested prayer right across the top of its website.

What happened after Damar’s life-threatening injury was an outpouring of prayer, love and concern, which demonstrates how much the world has changed. Human life is more important than any game, as demonstrated by the cancelling of the rest of the event. What began with Jesus Christ and his words to love and value humans, has worked in cultures, languages and groups of people to bring the most profound changes to the world.

What happened in Monday Night Football in just one example of how the world is different because of Jesus. Jesus laid down his life so that the lives of others could be saved, and set an incredible example which has an increasing effect even today.

A week later, Damar Hamlin is out of hospital, having spent days in ICU. This image from an ABC article says it all.

Queen Elizabeth II has been a rock of stability for the world for the last seven decades. When I lived as a child in Papua New Guinea she came in 1985 to commemorate 10 years of independance and I saw her. A memory I will never forget. Presidents and Prime ministers have come and gone, but she has remained. Her calm manner has been a source of confidence for many, living through World War 2, the cold war, the fall of communism, terrorist years and everything in between.

Can I suggest that the Queen’s faith is what gives her such confidence. And can I further suggest that it is in fact God himself which gives the world its stability. God knows we need stability and so He gives us people like Elizabeth of Windsor. She has been a gift of God to the 20th century, and rather than worrying about the future, we can rest assured that the same God is still there. God will provide other gifts.

The Queen may have reigned while 13 US President came and went, and while a multitude of other world leaders changed over, but God has reigned on His heavenly throne before the Queen, and will continue.

There is one rock of stability and it is none other than Christ.

Malachi 3:6 “I am the Lord, I do not change.”