The True Narrative

 

For this past week’s spring break, my husband and I took our three children to our nation’s capital, Washington D.C.  Over the three days we were there, we toured Mount Vernon, visited multiple memorials, saw the White House and Capitol building from a little distance, and walked through five museums. We were able to see such a variety of items, from the Declaration of Independence to Fred Rogers’ red cardigan and blue shoes, from the top hat that Abraham Lincoln wore the night he was shot to a first edition King James Bible.

Two of the museums we visited showed quite the contrast in world views. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which houses, among other things, fossils, gems, Egyptian artifacts, and an enormous elephant that Theodore Roosevelt shot, approaches everything from a secular evolutionist worldview. An entire section of the museum (which we simply walked past) was devoted to human origins, how man evolved from apes. Throughout the museum, millions of years was referenced again and again, as well as how animals evolved from others.

The next morning, we visited the Museum of the Bible. Here we walked through an Old Testament “experience.” It was a combination of videos and walk-through areas that took us through the story of the Old Testament in chronological order, from Creation to the Israelites coming back to their land after the Babylonian captivity. From there, we went on to the New Testament video that took us from the birth of Christ to the disciples going forth, preaching Christ as Savior to the world. Kelly and I were moved to tears as the story we know so well was told so beautifully. Kelly commented to me at one point what a contrast this formed with what we had seen the day before at the Natural History Museum.

One narrative says that we happened by chance, that we were in a sense, a “lucky accident.” There is no hope in this message. Here life has no ultimate purpose; after all, we’re only here by natural selection and will simply return to the earth upon death. Life is whatever we make of it. The only meaning it holds is the meaning we give it, which ultimately will not matter anyway.

The other narrative says that there is a God who created us with purpose for a reason. It speaks of His love even when the people He created turned away from Him. It tells us that He loved His creation so much that He sent His own Son to take the punishment they deserved. In this worldview, we are not simply beings looking to make our own meaning in life. We are part of a mission that is so much bigger than us, to point others to this Savior who gives joy and meaning in life. Death does not mean death, but for Christ’s followers, it is simply the entry into eternal life with Christ in a sinless world.

Today, as we celebrate Easter, I am so thankful that the story that the Natural History Museum tells is not true. Life has meaning; we have hope. We were created by a loving God, and we were saved by our Savior Jesus Christ who died for us and rose again, who is now with the Father and interceding on our behalf. It is all true. As we heard this morning, let us go and tell this message to those who have been deceived by the lie that the world tells. Let us speak this true narrative and tell them of our Creator and our risen Savior. Christ is real, and He is risen. He is risen indeed.