“Our world is crazy!” I am sure this is not the first time you have heard someone declare the insanity of the world in which we live. As we survey our society and world, it seems we see more and more hopelessness and uncertainty about the future.
As the election dust settles, the aftermath of the hurricane is assessed, wars are being fought, and our economy seems less and less friendly to hardworking Americans, we can all agree, to a certain extent, our world is crazy! I do not want to focus on the chaos in the world; rather, I want to consider why we all agree that it is chaotic. In other words, why do we all seem to have a standard by which to determine if the world is tumultuous or not?
Today, I want you to consider that there is a transcendent truth that we all acknowledge. Some acknowledge this truth consciously, while others acknowledge it subconsciously. Now, what is this “truth” I am referencing? I am referencing the transcendent truth that is the Word of God.
The Word of God is the revelation of the God who made the heavens and the earth. God inspired men of old to pen His words in the 66 books of the Holy Bible. His words have been divinely preserved for us to treasure today. Why are God’s words transcendent truth? His words are transcendent truth because of who He is and what He has done.
Firstly, God is uncreated, eternally pre-existent, and totally self-existent. He exists outside of time and space. He does not need anything or anyone in order to exist. That is who He is.
Secondly, He creates ex-nihilo. Ex-nihilo is a Latin term that means “from nothing.” When you and I create, we need something to start with. The carpenter needs wood. The blacksmith needs iron or steel. God needs nothing. As a matter of fact, He created everything from nothing.
John 1:3 says, “All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.” Romans 4:17 says, “In the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.”
My point is this. We all appeal to the transcendent truth of God. He is qualified to determine truth because of who He is and what He has done. We all see that the world is crazy because we are created in the Image of God. We have truth imprinted on our hearts. We know something is not right, because we acknowledge the eternal unchanging truth of God whether consciously or subconsciously. God made our world with order and purpose. He made us to reflect His glory and truth. When there is chaos, it’s because there is sin. And so, when we appeal to the transcendent truth found in Scripture, we are attesting to the reality and existence of the one true God.
With the condition of our world undeniably bleak, where do we find hope? We find hope in the Word of God, the Holy Bible. It is in His Word that we find Him as not only the Creator, but also the Savior. The Bible teaches that we are all sinners. Our sin separates us from God. Jesus, who is God, took on flesh and gave His life on the cross. He took the punishment for our sins by dying in our place. The Bible says in Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Would you repent of your sins and trust Jesus for salvation? I pray you find your hope in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ today.
Pictured above: the Heise family from left, Henry, Charlotte, Hannah, Ben, Sam, and Maggie.