Calvary Wolfeboro

One of the most profound lies that modern humanity has swallowed - hook, line, and sinker - is that human beings are fundamentally good. This, of course, flies in the face of the evidence all around us. In order, then, to perpetuate this lie, an explanation must be given for why it doesn’t seem like humanity is fundamentally good. The most common secular explanation for this apparent contradiction is that men and women do bad things because of external forces at work like oppression, suppression and injustice, just to name a few. Remove or change the external realities, it is proposed, and humanity will return to it’s natural “good” self. We come to Genesis 3, however, and we find the beginning of a very different explanation for why humanity does evil things: We are fallen. It’s the best explanation we have, of course, because it’s God’s explanation. And guess what? We got ourselves into this mess. But although the Fall is humanity’s own fault, God doesn’t expect us to get ourselves out of it. He will. For where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.

What is a person's gender? Until very recently in human history this question had a simple answer. It is still the case when one looks up the definition. Merriam-Webster, for example, states that gender is "a: SEX - the feminine gender; b: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex." Understood from this definition, gender is understood as synonymous with the titles, "male" and "female". In other words, there are two genders. Now enter the question, "How many genders are there?" into your favorite search engine. That question does not produce such a simple answer. In fact, even the first page of answers produced by the most popular search engine cannot agree on a number. One says 63, another, says 51. There are even those who claim that the number of genders has now exceeded 100. Into all of this confusion we need the input of God's timeless revelation. After all, God is the one who created male and female. He established gender. Perhaps we need to go back to the beginning, once again, and discover that He has left us answers to these same questions and more.

What is a person's gender? Until very recently in human history this question had a simple answer. It is still the case when one looks up the definition. Merriam-Webster, for example, states that gender is "a: SEX - the feminine gender; b: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex." Understood from this definition, gender is understood as synonymous with the titles, "male" and "female". In other words, there are two genders. Now enter the question, "How many genders are there?" into your favorite search engine. That question does not produce such a simple answer. In fact, even the first page of answers produced by the most popular search engine cannot agree on a number. One says 63, another, says 51. There are even those who claim that the number of genders has now exceeded 100. Into all of this confusion we need the input of God's timeless revelation. After all, God is the one who created male and female. He established gender. Perhaps we need to go back to the beginning, once again, and discover that He has left us answers to these same questions and more.

“Beginnings matter. The start of a race often determines its winner. The foundation of a house establishes the strength of its entire structure. So it is with the ideas that shape our lives. Their beginnings matter more than most people even realize. And yet so few consider the beginning of the greatest book ever written, the Bible. In it’s first book, Genesis, we find a treasure trove of truths about the beginnings of everything that matters. We will begin, no pun intended, with the beginning of creation.”

We've all heard the cliche, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." It's believed that Hippocrates, the Greek physician, coined the idea in relation to the treatment of serious disease. His belief was that a severe disease required equally severe treatment. The book of Ruth opens with a desperate situation. There is a famine in Judah. In Bethlehem, a man named Elimelech decides to uproot his family in search of relief from the famine. A desperate measure is carried out. On the surface it seems noble. What self-respecting man wouldn't take extreme measures to ensure his family survives? But do desperate times always call for desperate measures? One thing is for sure. Desperate circumstances are common in this world. A world that has never been more desperate for help than now. Let's consider this as we begin our series in Ruth: Advent of a Redeemer, with a challenge to "Remember the Desperation."

For the follower of Christ, surrender is par for the course. As it was for the Savior, so it is for His servants. Like Jesus, we must deal with sin, die to self, and dwell in submission. Of course, Jesus didn’t have to deal with the sin in his own life, he had to deal with our sin. And yet, even though He never sinned, his life was the prototype of the surrender that means for us giving up your life in order to save it. How did Jesus do it? Where did the strength He needed to surrender His life come from? The Father, of course. For although he was a man, he was also God the Son. His dependence of the Father for strength provides for us another example to follow. We, too, need a strength outside of ourselves in order to live a life of surrender. If we try to do it our own strength we will only end up discouraged and defeated. If we learn how to delight in God, we will have all the grace we need to live a life of surrender.

For the follower of Christ, surrender is par for the course. As it was for the Savior, so it is for His servants. Like Jesus, we must deal with sin, die to self, and dwell in submission. Of course, Jesus didn’t have to deal with the sin in his own life, he had to deal with our sin. And yet, even though He never sinned, his life was the prototype of the surrender that means for us giving up your life in order to save it. How did Jesus do it? Where did the strength He needed to surrender His life come from? The Father, of course. For although he was a man, he was also God the Son. His dependence of the Father for strength provides for us another example to follow. We, too, need a strength outside of ourselves in order to live a life of surrender. If we try to do it our own strength we will only end up discouraged and defeated. If we learn how to delight in God, we will have all the grace we need to live a life of surrender.