Living Like You Are A Human

"...the Christian is called to exhibit the characteristics of true humanity, because being a man is not intrinsically being sinful man, but being that which goes back before the Fall, to man made in the image of God."

Schaeffer's thoughts from The God Who is There indirectly touch on an interesting facet of how we define what it means to be human. We often tend to think of people solely in the context of Genesis 3, The Fall. After all, one of the basic facts of life is that everyone is fallen, right? What we miss is that in order to fall, you first need to have been standing. Genesis 3 doesn't make any sense without Genesis 1-2. You have to start with a good creation for that creation to fall. Evil isn't original - either in chronology or it's ability to create. It is proceeded by good and can only twist what is already there.

This perspective should impact how we live life in at least two specific ways:

1. Recognize the Twisting Effects of Evil - it touches everything, including the people with whom I interact. In the Truth Project, Del Tackett presents a helpful analogy: People who believe the lie of sin are POWs, not enemy combatants. The fact that they have been fatally messed up shouldn't prevent me from seeing that they were created to be something good. 
2. Enjoy Life Fully - Following God and enjoying life is a both/and proposition. G.K. Chesterton puts it this way in Orthodoxy: "The more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild." Good things running wild, life filled with zest, places and people enjoyed simply because God created them and they were created to be enjoyed - that's part of the life others should see in us. It's easy to evaluate experiences solely in light of their practicality: How much does this cost? Will I be learning something valuable? Is there a more profitable way to spend my time? Those are the questions that I have been quick to ask in the past. While there is a place for questions like these, we also need to recognize that they can completely miss the fact that some things we ought to do simply for the sake of enjoying God through his creation.

Following God and enjoying the world is a both/and proposition. In fact, on some level enjoying the world provides us with a unique way to worship God. With this in mind, what are some ways that you will be enjoying God through His creation in the near future? What are other facets of living a truly human life which we should be thinking about?