sin.

I'm well aware this word has so many negative associations that we'd rather just avoid it altogether. But the truth is, to ignore sin would be to severely minimize the fierce beauty of God's love. Sin creates a chasm, a canyon, between us and God. It mars our world, mars us. But what is it?

The Sunday school answer of "sin is breaking God's rules" is not completely false. It's just not the complete truth. I've heard the it defined "missing the mark" or "falling short." Again, it's not that I don't agree with these statements, they just don't give us the whole picture. These definitions paint God as merely a lawgiver and judge void of any personality or interest in our well-being. It's as if God exists to keep a running total of our mistakes.

And then, on the other hand, I started learning definitions of sin such as "rebellion against God" or "finding an identity apart from God." These ideas resonate with God's relational nature and do more justice to what sin actually does to my relationship with Him. When I rebel against Him, I push Him away and tell Him my way is better. A rift is created, and our friendship is broken.

But whenever I study sin, the rule-breaking idea keeps coming up...and if God is ruler of the universe, He must maintain order of it. So I can't dismiss those definitions altogether. But how to reconcile "missing the mark" with "rebellion against God"? Rule-following vs. relationship? God gives rules, yes? See Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy...but what is the greatest commandment? The greatest command is "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." So, get this, THE rule to follow is "Love God." Seriously. It's rule about relationship. Love comes first. So back to sin. Sin=breaking God's perfect laws=not LOVING Him with everything=rebelling against Him. Bingo.

So as God watches us, I don't think He sees naughty children coloring outside the lines; instead, He sees us giving our love away to things and people that cannot truly give us the love we so crave and need. He watches these things squeeze the life out of us, disfiguring and breaking us on the inside. In the process we become people who take and take some more, trying to find life for ourselves somehow. And as we take, we become murderers, stealing the life out of those around us. And yet, we're also dead inside. We're all running around loving things that leave us loveless and becoming unlovable people. We have destroyed the garden. God composed a symphony, we write our own discordant parts instead; He painted a masterpiece, and we smear black ink across the crystal blue sky. Sin is ugly.

But where sin increased, grace increased all the more. He can make the lawbreaker innocent. He can repair the broken relationship between Himself and rebellious man. And He can bring the dead to life.