Mostly Dead is Slightly Alive?

Five-Minute Friday SCENE.

A scene can be several things. It can be a portion of a film or a play where some action is taking place. For example, in the movie The Princess Bride, there is a scene where Miracle Max declares, “Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there’s usually only one thing you can do.”

A scene can also be a place where an awful event took place. We often refer to the place where a murder was done as “the scene of the crime.”

A scene can also be something beautiful. Recently my wife and I were in Big Sky Montana. There were many scenes of the mountains, waterfalls, rivers and other wonders of God’s creation.

You are the Scene that is Seen

There is a sense in which you are both in the scene and the scene. A scene is what one sees. When God made the earth and everything in it, he said it was good. But when he made man, he made him special. He was to be seen in the scene of the garden as one who was made in the image of God.

In Genesis 1:27 Moses wrote, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” What this means is that God intended for human individuals to look like him in various ways. When we are seen, it is meant to be a reminder of the Creator. This sets us apart from everything else in the scene.

Sadly, Adam and Eve refused to image God as intended. They rebelled and ate what was forbidden even though God said they would die for their rebellion. In Genesis 3:4-5 the crafty serpent proposed an alternative. “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” It wasn’t enough for them to just be image bearers, they wanted to be like God in a way he had not intended. God cannot lie or do anything that is not good and holy. They no longer imaged God in their thinking and actions. They became more than just “mostly dead.” They died because God is just and his word is dependable.

God was present during this scene. He confronted Adam and Eve. They each tried to blame someone else for their own failure. They were no longer the scene that represented the God in whose image they had been made. But God provided a covering and promised a future where the scene would be reversed. They could go from dead to alive in Christ.

Those who read the Bible know the story did not end in Eden’s garden. God provided a future scene, revealed in the four gospels, where his own Son would come to make atonement for sin. The final scene on the cross made it possible for us to be both forgiven and be made righteous. This makes it possible for those who are trusting in Jesus to look forward to the new creation. Now that will be quite a scene!

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

Miracle Max was mostly correct. “With all dead, well, with all dead there’s usually only one thing you can do.” You bury the all dead. End of Act I. But there is hope for Act II that requires a response in Act I.

Christians (those who are trusting Jesus) see their lives and their futures (Act II) by faith in God’s promises. They want to be seen in the scene of this brief life (Act I) as preparing for a future declared by God. In a real sense, they care about others and seek to direct them to the safety that is only found in Jesus. They are like Noah who obtained God’s righteousness by faith. This life is only Act I. We need to be prepared for Act II.

“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Hebrews 11:7

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.