Our world is one where the word ‘dystopia’ (an imaginary society with great suffering and injustice and hopelessness under a totalitarian regime marked by harshness) and its corresponding adjective, ‘dystopian’ are in vogue. It’s very chic to use either of them in conversation. And very ‘in’ to watch dystopian TV shows and dystopian movies and to read dystopian books. These old but new again words are the opposite of utopia and utopian which are the hallmark of God’s design for His kids. After all, he began by placing his first kids in the Garden of Eden, the initial utopia. While men and women have done their utmost to create the messed up world we are in, God continues to persist in directing us back to His original idea. Picture this with me, when God gets His way:
A man and a woman, both chaste, attend their wedding ceremony, where they make solemn oaths of lifelong loyalty, exclusively to each other. They embark on this new phase of life, glowing with love for one another and God’s pleasure at seeing their untarnished love. They encounter personality hiccups like all people all over the world and quickly resolve tensions. They learn to accept each other’s differences, even appreciating them. Lover’s quarrels, too, end in the asking and receiving of forgiveness – before the sun sets so as to give bitterness no toehold. They discover the sweetness and intimacy of making up again. They talk openly about any struggles and pray regularly for one another. The joy they find in one another is so satisfying that the thought of breaking their vows of faithfulness is quite simply a non- issue. They raise well-rounded, well-grounded, children who are secure from basking in the example of their happily-married parents. Family and friends are strongly attracted to them as they see them consistently living their faith out loud. They are known for their hospitality and generosity. God does a happy dance watching them.
This scenario may be too much for many, too sweet, too idealistic, too much the musings of an escapist daydreamer. But this is God’s ideal for His children. Does He love those who don’t come through on all points? Of course! Mainly because none of us lives this to perfection. Paul writes: “There is no one who always does what is right, no, not even one.” Romans 3:10, TPT. Yet this is God’s day-to-day, open-armed invitation. And no matter how far off track we’ve been, or are, that invitation is still current, still sincere, still loving and forgiving and cleansing. The roughest and most ornery among us keep getting the invitation (God is more persistent than the credit card offers that come in the mail!). If we accept His invite, scary as that might at first seem, we find ourselves in territory called utopia and that, too, is an old word, forever new! PD
