Nothing will ever get better. The arc of my life is tragic and will never change. The world is falling into chaos and destruction and there’s no hope. The earth is dying and nothing can be done.
It is a very normal and human thing, to begin to feel as though negative patterns in our lives and in the world are fixed. In a culture that teaches linear thinking, we have a tendency to project current trends into the future. And as our lives are consumed by day-to-day tasks, and by the flood of information coming to us through our screens, there is little opportunity to deviate from rigid modes of perception.
Jesus disrupts this perceptual “stuckness” to show us that life is more responsive than what we could ever even imagine. The miracles Jesus performs show that in fact, the world is immensely responsive to love, and to faith in love. Even faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. All things are possible with God. Jesus wasn’t just saying these things to be cute–they are actually true!
The earth reflects this good news about God’s reality. The earth responds to destructive actions with decay and destabilization, as we are seeing so clearly these days. But it also responds to healing actions with incredible regeneration. People practicing permaculture and regenerative agriculture are showing how degraded, polluted land can be restored to vitality, supporting tremendous biodiversity, sequestering carbon, replenishing aquifers, and producing abundantly.* What if humans set out to restore every corner of the earth in this way? And what if we applied the same principle to our lives?
As Christians, we find freedom and joy in the knowledge that life is infinitely responsive to love. And we are called to be a living example of that principle so that others can know it, too.
*For examples of this, check out some of the free short documentaries at happenfilms.com!
Rosie Snow