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how does the new testament speak about the goodness of creation in light of human brokenness?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Romans 8:19-22

For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.

The Apostle Paul, writing in the mid-1st century CE from Corinth to Christians in Rome, explores profound themes of life in the Spirit. In this section, he connects the future hope of believers with the destiny of the entire created world, seeing them as intertwined.

How does recognizing creation's suffering and its hope for redemption change your perspective on humanity's role in the world?

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Read alongside it

  • Genesis 3:17-19

    Describes the curse on the ground after human disobedience, linking human actions to creation's struggle.

  • Colossians 1:15-20

    Presents Christ as the one through whom all creation was made and by whom all things will be reconciled.

  • Revelation 21:1-5

    Envisions a future 'new heaven and a new earth' where all brokenness is overcome and creation is fully restored.

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