The Place of Change and Shadow in Our Theology

In the Scriptures, I think that we can find concerning our “beautiful mess” that the beauty we can deem appropriate is what a biblical worldview holds by that name. We find that in moments when we sin against our children, we are able to ask for their forgiveness and point them to gospel hope. Beautiful! We find that when we bring order out of the chaos of a house, we are reflecting God. Beautiful too! We can marvel at how He brings order out of chaos and how He encourages us in the “here and now” of our lives.

In short, we can know that the mess, the shadow, itself is not actually beautiful — but what God does with it is. He redeems what we cannot, and that is breathtaking. He brings peace where we cannot — in the inner parts of ourselves that trust Him with the process of life. The impeccable agency of God in our lives, then, is the beauty. And isn’t that truth throughout the history of mankind? Solomon proclaims that there is nothing new under the sun; we do well to become occupied with an immutable God and what He does to change us.

So, we also can adapt ourselves through confronting in ourselves what we misvalue. Do we always need the “next”? What about the lasting, the changeless, and the timeless? These are ultimately interesting because God is ultimate in interest. And what about the pure, the bright, the light, and perfection? These are ultimate beauty because God is ultimate beauty.

Throughout history, we can see that the God of our history has not changed—and that can cause us to marvel. He has never not been worthy of worship. He has never not been high and lifted up. Because we change, we can feel that God’s steadfastness is praiseworthy. He is what we cannot be.

Our change and our flaws can bring us to worship Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you not find yourself soothed to be set on ground that is a solid, lasting foundation: that of the unbroken Scriptures which are set on the immutable character of God? God provides for us what we cannot ever provide for ourselves.

We long for principles higher than ourselves: a beautiful mess and the new-and-inspiring. But let’s start instead with a God who transcends our full understanding in His immutability, and a God who has come to redeem and indwell us to make us more like Himself with each passing day.

More from this author
4 Things to Remember When We Are Spiritually Weak
10 Ways to Remember the Power of Jesus
How to Connect with Jesus

Photo credit: Unsplash/Chad Madden

Lianna Davis is author of Keeping the Faith: A Study in Jude and Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss. She is also a contributor to We Evangelicals and Our Mission with Cascade Books. Lianna is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She lives in Illinois with her husband and daughter. You can learn more about her writing at her website.