When Everything Just Works

In his book Not the Way It's Supposed to Be Cornelius Plantinga Jr. writes:

The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom.  We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies.  In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights.  Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.

This is the type of existence we are created to live.  Compared to this beautiful functionality though, our lives and our world are a complete wreck.  This has come about as a result of sin and Creation's subsequent Fall, and is a fact with which we are all far too familiar.

Today at his blog Head Heart Hand, David Murray posted a fun video.  He prefaced it by speaking of how a recent trip to a scrapyard left him depressed as the crushed and broken down cars which had once been so beautiful and so functional reminded him of the fallen condition of the world in which we now live.  He goes on to say...

My spirits were lifted yesterday though when my son pointed me to this video (below). What precise perfection! It reminded me of how integrated the original creation must have been, and how everything must have run so smoothly.

And it also made me hope and long for the day when God will take our scrappy lives and world and make all things new. And everything will "just work."