Students reflect on the foundational characteristics of their relationship with God in their Christian Worldview class with Pr. Adam Osier.

This is a simple question to answer from a biblical perspective. Our problem is sin—humans rebelling against God and doing what is right in our own eyes. Our separation from God because of our sin is the problem. This answer also includes what is wrong with our world. The land was cursed as a direct result of Adam’s sin. I can see this immense, inescapable problem every day, from reading the news to hearing the drama going on in the dorms. 

So, how can we fix it? Unfortunately, we can’t. It is our fault that we have this problem, and nothing we can ever do will make it right. That’s why the gospel message, Jesus coming to save us, is such good news! God came down as Immanuel, God with us, to be the Savior of humanity. In every class at FLBC, we keep coming back to this amazing truth. God loves us, and He has not abandoned us to our sinful desires. Instead, He has come to save us from our problem, our sin. 

It took me a long time to realize that. I had somehow believed that I could save myself by doing good things and apologizing more. But none of that stopped me from sinning. It took me until middle school to fully understand that it was God who sanctifies me, purifying me from sin and guiding me to do what’s right. We can’t fix our sin problem. But God can. 

The world we live in is one of the most amazing gifts our God has blessed us with. With an orderly cycle of the sun rising each morning and setting each evening, day to day our world reveals more of God’s goodness and beauty. Only something so divine could create mountains so beautiful and a human eye so sophisticated. God has created the universe, the earth, and everything on it. We are inseparable from Him.  

Natural revelation is the way God makes Himself known to us. God’s creation teaches us more about Him. Matthew 7:24-25 says, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” As Christians, if we are honest in our worldview, we are obligated to walk in faith in the Lord. If the elements of the earth can separate us from God, our faith is in earthly things. To have a house built on the rock is to place your life in God’s hands and understand your identity is found in Him.  

I can live confidently knowing that the sun will go down tonight and rise back up in the morning because God has blessed me with such a valuable experience called life. God has provided me with purpose for this orderly world. 

What are we are living for? We are all living for something, whether that be for our careers, weekends, families, or friends. However, if we base our lives on any of these goals, we will never be truly satisfied. There is no job that can give us all the money we want. We can party on the weekends, but sure enough, Monday is coming. Family and friends will eventually grow up and go through changes.  

There is only one end goal in life that can truly satisfy our needs, and that goal is found in Jesus Christ. We see this truth in the parable of the house on the rock. It says that those who trust in Christ are like those who build their house on the rock, and those who do not trust in Christ are like those who build on the sand. Eventually the rains fall, and the floods come, and the house built on the rock stands firm, but the house built on the sand falls.  

We need to remember that Christ is the solid rock that we base our whole life on, including our end goal. If we build our goals on any other foundation, it will all fall flat. Family, weekends—and yes, even money—are all gifts that God gives us. But if we use these gifts as the basis of our lives, we end up missing the true purpose that Christ has for us, which is to trust in Him. 

To have our foundation on the rock, we need to know both who we are and whose we are. Growing up in a Christian household, I never doubted that God was my Creator and Heavenly Father. I memorized Bible verses like Psalm 139:13-14, which say that God created us uniquely.  

As I grew older and went through school, I was introduced to the theory of evolution, different religions, and other worldviews that did not match what I had grown up knowing to be true. While I was confident about my beliefs and understood that humans were created specially by God, I did not know how to properly communicate it.  

Last summer I served on a summer team that focused on the theme of life. I was able to learn practical ways to show kids that God had created life to be valued and loved. If we truly want to know what our nature is, we must listen to what our Creator has to say. God tells us continually in His Word that He created humanity uniquely from all His other creations, and there is proof in our very bodies. Who we are is found and defined in our Creator. We are created in the image of God and are His children.  

Studying at the Free Lutheran Bible College has helped me to establish my identity in Christ through a foundation made solid by God’s Word. I can now confidently say that my nature is an image-bearer of the one true God, who created me and the rest of humanity to be set apart and in relationship with Him.