"But the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" Genesis 3:9 (NIV)
From the beginning when God created the Heavens and the Earth, He chose man to be his special creation in his own image. From Adam until now, God wants a relationship with man. He never intended for creation to be filled with sin, but in order for man to have free will, it had to be made available. Otherwise, we would be emotionally void of choice and would be like the animals. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God banished them from the garden. "And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.'" (Genesis 3:22) Before the fall, Adam and Eve would have happily lived in the Garden of Eden taking daily walks and communing with God forever. But after the introduction of sin and knowledge, they now had a choice between good and evil and could easily choose the latter. Since God cannot tolerate sin, man was banished from His presence.
But our God is a God of Grace and He does not long to see us suffer. "For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" (Ezekiel 18:32) For as evil as we are, we have this amazing capacity to commune with the Holy God. And above that, He actually wants us to! He has given us the ultimate gift in His Son, Jesus Christ. We now have a way to get back into the presence and glory of God our Father. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'" (John 11:25-26)
We who trust and obey in the Jehovah God, Creator of the universe, will now be allowed to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. So we will certainly see increased suffering and sin in our world right now, for it is controlled by Satan himself. But if we believe in Christ and choose to follow His way here on this earth, we will go on to live in a place where there is no more suffering and pain. James wrote, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (4:14) Since our time here is short, but the promise of life with the Father is for eternity, wouldn't we want to make sure that no matter what happens tomorrow, we are sure of where we will be when this earthly life comes to an end? May we seek God here on earth with all our hearts, and get just a brief glimpse of our eternity. His grace is magnificent and beyond comprehension, but it is ours for the asking if we lay down our lives and follow Him.
From the beginning when God created the Heavens and the Earth, He chose man to be his special creation in his own image. From Adam until now, God wants a relationship with man. He never intended for creation to be filled with sin, but in order for man to have free will, it had to be made available. Otherwise, we would be emotionally void of choice and would be like the animals. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God banished them from the garden. "And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.'" (Genesis 3:22) Before the fall, Adam and Eve would have happily lived in the Garden of Eden taking daily walks and communing with God forever. But after the introduction of sin and knowledge, they now had a choice between good and evil and could easily choose the latter. Since God cannot tolerate sin, man was banished from His presence.
But our God is a God of Grace and He does not long to see us suffer. "For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" (Ezekiel 18:32) For as evil as we are, we have this amazing capacity to commune with the Holy God. And above that, He actually wants us to! He has given us the ultimate gift in His Son, Jesus Christ. We now have a way to get back into the presence and glory of God our Father. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'" (John 11:25-26)
We who trust and obey in the Jehovah God, Creator of the universe, will now be allowed to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. So we will certainly see increased suffering and sin in our world right now, for it is controlled by Satan himself. But if we believe in Christ and choose to follow His way here on this earth, we will go on to live in a place where there is no more suffering and pain. James wrote, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (4:14) Since our time here is short, but the promise of life with the Father is for eternity, wouldn't we want to make sure that no matter what happens tomorrow, we are sure of where we will be when this earthly life comes to an end? May we seek God here on earth with all our hearts, and get just a brief glimpse of our eternity. His grace is magnificent and beyond comprehension, but it is ours for the asking if we lay down our lives and follow Him.
Ramona, I often think about the brevity of this life compared with the forever of the next. I hope to keep my eyes focused on my eternal home, remembering that every choice I make affects this life and the one beyond.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! Thank you!
Many blessings,
Andrea
I discovered your post after I added my new post, "A Glimpse of God's Grace." God's grace is a magnificent blessing! Thank you for your lovely post.
ReplyDelete