The doctrine of Total Depravity is the summarization of the spiritual condition of fallen people due to the result of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Total Depravity does not mean that we are all as evil as can be, but it does mean that every inclination a person has has been polluted in some way by sin. Now the basic premise for this is that in the beginning people were meant to love God fully by worshipping and serving Him and Him alone. But, because sin has tainted every aspect of a person we are more apt to worship everything else, except God. When we think in terms of Total Depravity, we must think of it in the context of our worship and devotion of God.
What I've been challenged with recently is making the transition from understanding Total Depravity to owning my own personal depravity (how Total Depravity manifests itself in my own life). For me, it's like I'm looking at myself in a mirror where I think the reflection I'm staring at looks pretty good, but that's the lie that I want to believe. The reality of the matter is, which is far closer to the truth is that my reflection looks more like what I would see if I were staring into one of those circus mirrors. You know those mirrors that stretch and smoosh you. If, I say that I believe in Total Depravity than this is what I must accept: that I am fundamentally distorted and I live in this distortion everyday.
But, that's not the end of the story. The bible says: "For if, by the trespass of the one man [Original Sin], death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace [Salvation] and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ."(Rom 5: 17). In Jesus, God has provided a way of redemption for all mankind. When I come to Jesus, I come to Him just as I am, warts and all, and He loves me just the way I am, but He loves me enough not to leave me this way. That's why the Bible also says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Being a new creation in Christ means that the old misshapen and deformed me is being transformed day by day into something new, something beautiful, something glorious. But, I must make that conscience choice to come to Jesus just as I am and then walk with Him down this road of redemption.
