ˈbluːprɪnt/
noun a design plan or other technical drawing.
Isaiah 59:1-2: “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
Hebrews 4:14-16: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
The Bible, as I have understood it over the years, is a beautiful narrative of God the creator, and His love for His creation.
At the very outset of this narrative we see the creation of man and the subsequent fall of humanity into sin. Genesis describes the relationship that Adam had with God as being extremely intimate, face to face almost, would be the assumption.
We see, in the creation narrative, a boundary being set by God. God tells Adam that they may eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
In Jewish tradition the eating of the fruit was what made evil or rather, the desire for evil part of the human psyche.
Augustine of Hippo emphasised that it was not necessarily the fruits themselves that carried evil, but that the intermingling of evil, or henceforth, carnal desire was brought upon by the breaking of this boundary set out by God. It was the act of disobedience that allowed sin to infiltrate and corrupt the hearts of man.
In the tradition of Augustine, this original sin signified a turning away from God (or being) towards nothingness – or a state of not being – a loss of AUTHORITY. A loss of IDENTITY.
God had a specific blueprint in mind for humanity when He created us. He had a plan and a purpose for His creation – but at the same time gave us the agency of free will – the option to choose.
In choosing to disobey God, Adam and Eve turned towards nothingness in what Augustine describes as the ‘depletion of the soul’ and the ‘tendency to nihilate oneself’ – to reduce oneself to nothing.
Since then generations have been born into sin – into this nothingness.
To make this more relatable, I would ask the following: Have you ever felt that there is an emptiness inside you? A hollowness? A search for meaning or purpose? A search for deeper truth? A need to find meaning for your existence?
One of the fundamental questions of philosophy is, “why are we here?” or rather, “what is the meaning of life?”
Man was created with full knowledge of this, but chose to turn away from the source of life, or the Creator, towards nothingness – and for generations we have been born into the world with this emptiness, this void, this nothingness inside of us – a nothingness we try and fill with all kinds of things, from sex, to drugs, to music, movies, money, material possessions, power etc, – false idols, in an effort to find meaning and purpose, when our purpose has always been in God.
As the book of Colossians clearly states – all things were created through Him and FOR Him.
That is why it was necessary, as per the scripture above, for Jesus to come and intercede for us as our High Priest – to come and bridge that gap – to come and fill that emptiness.
Glory to God, the arm of God is not to short to reach us – but it is our iniquity – our sinfulness, our rebellion, that builds walls between us and the love of Christ.
Isaiah 53:4-6: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Jesus, our High Priest, familiar with all our trials and tribulations, has paid for our healing – the restoration and renewal of our souls, our hearts, our bodies – He has paid for the healing of your heart, your emotional wellbeing, your spiritual wellbeing, and the healing of your body – your physical wellbeing. He has paid the price for our healing from sin and the consequences thereof.
There was a blueprint. There was deviation. Now it is time for a reboot – now’s the time to find your purpose, to find your identity – now’s the time for the blueprint to be rebooted.
As we go through this journey, you will discover a new freedom – which is the foundation of the Christian faith – you will experience inner healing and restoration. You will experience deliverance. You will feel the chains breaking.
I leave you with the words of Christ Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and salvation.
Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
This is my prayer for you.
That you may find Jesus – that you will experience the peace He has promised, and that you will receive the grace He offered on the cross.
#blueprintreboot #comefindyourself