The Things We Do in the DarkSample

Q: What is sin?

A: Sin is loving anything more than God. It is thinking, speaking, or acting in ways that are against what God wants for us.

Clearly the world isn’t as it should be. We don’t have to look far to see suffering, injustice, and pain playing out all around us. And the brokenness isn’t just something we see “out there;” it’s something we feel inside of ourselves, too. We’ve all done, said, and thought things we regret.

The Christian faith doesn’t deny or minimize the brokenness in the world or within ourselves. It gives us language to make sense of both the problem and the solution.

God created humanity to flourish. Everything we want to see in the world–peace, justice, and love–-were exactly what God wanted and designed. God made people in his image to enjoy a relationship with him, care for the creation, and reflect his love to the world.

So what went wrong?

Humanity rejected God and his design for life and flourishing. We turned away and chose to go our own direction. Like a tree cut off from its roots, humanity lost its connection to the source of truth and life: God. And as a result, we began to decay into confusion and death.

That rejection is called sin. It’s the root of all the brokenness we see in the world and feel inside.

Sin isn’t just an “oops”--it’s missing out and falling short of everything God wants for us. It’s an ugly cycle: Rejection of God leads to confusion, that leads to suffering, that cycles back to us rejecting God all over again.

God gives us a way out of that cycle. He calls us to repent– to turn away from our sin and run back to God whom we encounter in Jesus. Repentance is more than just asking for forgiveness. It’s a daily reorienting away from sin and toward God. And we don’t have to do it alone. The Holy Spirit helps us, one step at a time, changing our hearts and desires, clearing away the confusion, and showing us the fullness of life God designed us to live.

Read: Romans 1:18-23

Reflection Questions:

1. Reread verse 21. What’s the difference between knowing and worshiping God?
2. How does a failure to recognize God as creator lead to sin?