Behind the beauty
You walk down a street in a big city filled with thousands of people. All around you is a sea of busyness, and yet somehow in the midst of it all, beauty too. You look up and you see the blue sky reflecting on the glass of the towering buildings that surround you and are reminded that spring is here. There are newly blossomed flowers and tall trees covered with vibrant green leaves in the park just across the way, which is filled with people enjoying the landscape of what seems to be a perfect day. But nothing about this day is perfect; behind the beauty of creation that we so easily find comfort in is a land of decay and death.
The song “I Am Living in a Land of Death” tells this story. It’s at the same time devastating and hopeful.
Beyond the curse
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Romans 5:12
Adam and Eve’s betrayal of God in the garden led to a curse placed upon all creation, resulting in man’s immediate separation from God. From there death would spread to all men—no one could escape its curse. Although unity with God was no longer present, God did not forsake his people altogether. Redemption ultimately came through Jesus, the only sacrifice capable of crushing the sins of man, when he died a vicious death on the cross, was buried in a secure tomb for three days only to rise from it, and conquered death through his resurrection.
A burning beacon
Jesus is a glorious light, one darkness cannot conceal. The light has been both manifested in his people and in his word. That light is Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). As Satan seeks to destroy the work of God, we know that he will never have total victory (Rev. 12:7–17). When the Holy Spirit reveals to us that we need Jesus, our eyes become enlightened to the reality that the life we had apart from Christ was burdened by death, which took the beautiful creation of God and turned it into something we held in higher esteem than the one who created it.
The gospel gives us life and opens our eyes to a sobering reality: we are living in a land of death. The amazing promise is that we are not of this land, not of this decaying world. There will be much to be discouraged by in this life, things that Satan will try and use to bring us to despair. But you can take heart, for Jesus has overcome this world, and his promises are more precious than gold (John 16:33; Psa. 19). Out of total destruction has come a Savior who swallows up death and is making all things new (Isa. 25:8; Rev. 21:5). He is our beacon of hope. As people in Christ, we are given the freedom to cling to the promises of God, rather than the fleeting things of this world—promises we can both treasure and boldly proclaim to all.
“The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:17
Zach Bolen is the frontman for Citizens and a deacon at Mars Hill U-District, where the band leads worship. You can find “I Am Living in a Land of Death” on Citizens’ self-titled, full-length album on iTunes or listen to it below.
