What in the World is God Doing? (Repurpose Your Life, Part 2)
Series: Repurpose Your Life (Part 2)
Author: Dr. Steven L. Childers
Title: What in the World is Doing?
Article 2: Question 2: What in the World is God Doing?
In our last article we learned how we are to find our purpose in life by discovering our place in what God is doing in the world today.
But in order to find our place in God’s story, we must first know where the story began, where it is now, and where it’s ultimately going. It can be helpful to think of this as a five-act play:
In Act One: we find the story of creation’s perfect harmony, the picture of ultimate happiness, and wholeness in the world God created. Human beings had a perfect relationship with God, a perfect relationship with themselves, with others, and creation.
But in Act Two we find the story of how this perfect world and humanity are horribly ruined by the fall of mankind into sin. Things are no longer the way they’re supposed to be. All humanity and all creation are now under God’s just curse.
But in Act Three we find the story of how God graciously begins restoring his fallen creation. First, through Israel and then their promised king, Jesus, who through his life, death, and resurrection inaugurated God’s kingdom on earth to make all things new.
And then in Act Four we find the story of Jesus’ ascension and the subsequent outpouring of his Holy Spirit on his church for the ongoing advancement of God’s kingdom and will on the earth until he returns.
And finally in Act Five we find the return of Christ and the consummation of his kingdom on earth where all things that were lost because of humanity’s fall into sin will be restored in the new heavens and the new earth for eternity.
The one story unfolding in all these acts is the gospel–the good news of the kingdom.
The good news that God’s creation, ruined by sin, is now being redeemed by Jesus Christ and renewed by his Holy Spirit into God’s kingdom.
God’s purpose for the world is not merely the rebirth of human souls but also the rebirth of all creation into a new heaven and a new earth.
Today we are living in Act Four, a unique period of time between the resurrection of Jesus and God’s restoration of all things through him when he returns.
But during this time, God calls us to find our joy and our meaning in him and in carrying out his purposes for the sake of the world.
In our next article, we’ll be taking an even deeper look at God’s purpose for the world and its practical meaning for our lives today.