Are we miserable sinners without any hope of doing good?
Or are we wonderfully made in God’s likeness with goodness at our centre?
Does Original Sin dominate or Original Blessing?
Well, as human beings we can sometimes feel as if there is no goodness in us and that we are doomed to fail at every turn. Paul sees it this way when, in his letter to the Romans, he quotes from Psalm 14, “There is no-one who does good, no, not one”. And sometimes we can despair as we look around us and see so much human evil in the world and in ourselves.
However we should not despair as we have Good News at the heart of our faith.
The Good News is that the light has overcome the darkness and that love has overcome fear.
Original Blessing is stronger than Original Sin. In Genesis it is the creation of the world that comes first, and the creation is named as being very good. Early on Original Sin enters into the story as Adam and Eve give way to temptation, but it comes after the Original Blessing. We are still creatures made in God’s image and likeness.
And Jesus comes with Good News. He preaches love and forgiveness and has come to restore God’s Original Blessing.
Therefore, what should dominate our lives is Blessing rather than cursing.
As we approach one another we seek out the God/good in them and seek to be in touch with God’s blessing of them as his children.
And this does make a huge practical difference. If we look at each other and are dominated by what is wrong with the other person, then we can be sucked into a vicious circle of blame and negativity.
If, however, we approach people seeking out that which is Godly in them then we can reach out to them with blessing and encouragement.
Let’s decide to bless one another and not to curse the wrong in them.
For it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
Philip Young