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Guest (Male): Climate change isn't the problem. It's bigger than that. Let's talk on Key Life.

Guest (Male): That was author and seminary professor Steve Brown. And this is Key Life. We're all about radical grace, because of what Jesus has done, God's not mad at you. Keep listening and that message will set you free to live a life of joy and surprising faithfulness. Thank you, Matthew.

Steve Brown: If you were listening yesterday, I told you about the hurricane we went through. Lost everything and how bad it was, and how we should not have been surprised, because this is not a wonderful world.

Steve Brown: All is not the way it's supposed to be. Something is bent. And I quoted from Romans 8:22 through 23.

Steve Brown: Paul says this, and we as Christians need to remember it. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Steve Brown: And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Steve Brown: Hurricanes and floods and wildfires, crop failures are not caused by climate change. They're the result of the Fall. And if they are caused by climate change, that is the result of the Fall too.

Steve Brown: I frankly want to spend more time on the nature of the Fall as it affects the world and how it's bent. But that's another book.

Steve Brown: This thing that we're doing now is about the repercussions of the Fall generally and particularly the danger of believing the lie that we live in a wonderful world.

Steve Brown: And I'm going to give you the biblical truth, which turns out to be good news, believe it or not.

Steve Brown: There's wisdom in Wordsworth Longfellow's poem, "The Rainy Day." "The day is cold and dark and dreary, it rains and the wind is never weary. The vine still clings to the moldering wall, but at every gust the dead leaves fall, and the day is dark and dreary."

Steve Brown: "My life is cold and dark and dreary, it rains and the wind is never weary. My thoughts still cling to the molding past, but the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast, and the days are dark and dreary."

Steve Brown: "Be still, sad heart, and cease repining, behind the clouds the sun is still shining. The fate is the common fate of all, into each life some rain must fall. Some days must be dark and dreary."

Steve Brown: It is, of course, a cliché to say behind the clouds the sun is shining. But there is, as with most clichés, some truth in that.

Steve Brown: However, ignoring the clouds that block the sun is a major tragedy. False expectations concerning the world, its people, and all that happens are dangerous.

Steve Brown: However, it is far more dangerous when those false expectations apply to one's fault.

Steve Brown: And we'll see as we go through this teaching on lies we believe, awareness is a gift that God, because he likes us, gives to his people. That awareness in itself makes everything better.

Steve Brown: Will you get married? Will your ship come in? Is everything going to work out? Will your kids be high achievers? Will you be a high achiever?

Steve Brown: Will you get that job? Will you get that raise? Will you have good health? Will you get what you worked so hard to achieve? Will your church grow? Will you live to a ripe old age?

Steve Brown: Will everyone love you? And will you love them back? Will you surrender to God's will? Will you never be shamed or fearful? Will you achieve the victorious Christian life? Will you triumph over your besetting sin?

Steve Brown: Will you get home before the dark? Will your golf game, game or beach wedding be rained out? Will you never have to go through a divorce or a hurricane?

Steve Brown: Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

Steve Brown: A fallen world shatters our concept of fairness and justice. As an aside, I might say that our expectation of fairness and justice makes one wonder where we got that expectation in the first place.

Steve Brown: It's kind of like hunger presupposing food. If we're hungry, it presupposes the presence of food somewhere. Likewise, if we expect fairness and justice, it suggests the concept of fairness and justice and our desire for it came from somewhere outside ourselves.

Steve Brown: That's one of several arguments for the existence of God. But I digress.

Steve Brown: In fact, a lot of our lives are not fair.

Steve Brown: Justice is sometimes a rare commodity. When Jesus said you always have the poor with you in Mark 14:7, he was not giving a brief or ignoring the poor. He was simply making an observation about the reality of a fallen world.

Steve Brown: Living in the reality of a fallen world doesn't mean that things are always as bad as they could be. Or that there isn't a lot of good mixed in with the bad.

Steve Brown: It is simply the awareness that some things are not always fair and some things are not fixable.

Steve Brown: M. Scott Peck was right. He said this in his book "The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth."

Steve Brown: And it's an old book, but it's a wise book, and this is what he said: "Life is difficult."

Steve Brown: This is a great truth. One of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we fully see this truth, we transcend it.

Steve Brown: Once we truly know that life is difficult, once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult, because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.

Steve Brown: When we realize the implications of living in a fallen world, what happens is amazing.

Steve Brown: For instance, disappointment and disillusionment are no longer definitions of how we live our lives.

Steve Brown: Someone has said every church should have a special Sunday school class for the outraged, the appalled, and the offended. Depending on the issue, the situation, and the people involved, it would provide an outlet for the acid that destroys the love we could have for one another.

Steve Brown: On the other hand, if Christians were aware of the nature of a fallen world, there would be no need for that class.

Steve Brown: Years ago, I wrote on the back page of my Bible something that I heard someone say. If I could remember who said it, I would tell you. But I've thought about it lots throughout my life.

Steve Brown: Let me give you the quote: "You wouldn't be so shocked at your own sin if you didn't have such a high opinion of yourself."

Steve Brown: Actually, we wouldn't be so shocked at a lot of bad things in our world if we didn't have such skewed expectations of what will happen in a fallen world.

Steve Brown: It's a bad world.

Steve Brown: The Bible is clear about that, and if you don't get it, you're going to be in trouble all the time. And sometimes I don't get it.

Steve Brown: And in not getting it, my shame, my fear, my regret, and my guilt become more extant in my life.

Steve Brown: And so a Christian is someone who knows about heaven, who knows about Jesus, who knows about forgiveness, who understands about redemption, who sees a plan for the entire world, and God's working in an entire world. But the Christian is also a person who knows that we're not home yet.

Steve Brown: Our expectations are biblical and real. You think about that. Amen.

Guest (Male): Life is difficult, and it's even harder when we fail to see reality for what it is. Thank you for that perspective, Steve. Tomorrow we'll discuss the idea that forgiveness grows in the soil of awareness. Do join us for that.

Guest (Male): If you're tired, come to him. If you're guilty, hear his forgiveness. If you're afraid, receive his peace. If you feel forgotten, ask him to remember, and know that he already has.

Guest (Male): You don't need to have it all together. You don't need to impress him. You don't even need the right words. His voice finds you where you are, and when he speaks, everything changes.

Guest (Male): Well, that excerpt is from an article by Justin Holcomb. You can find it in the latest edition of Key Life Magazine, along with pieces from Steve, Matt Hurd, and Barry Smith, plus info on a whole bunch of new and exciting features and products.

Guest (Male): It's yours when you call us at 1-800 Key Life. That's 1-800-539-5433. You can also email Steve at keylife.org to ask for the magazine, or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact for our mailing addresses. Just ask for Key Life Magazine.

Guest (Male): Finally, would you partner in the work of Key Life by giving? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or just take out your phone and text Key Life to 28950. And remember, no matter how you give, big or small, one-time or ongoing, every gift matters and every gift really does help. Thanks.

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