Can you imagine waking up every single day to enjoy conversation with God? I am talking about conversation where you hear God actually speaking to your heart and conversing with you about real life issues, about plans for the future, and about His purposes. I am thinking about times when you can unload on God, dump all your problems, all confusion, and every burden into His lap and then listen for His response.
This might seem far fetched to many. God seems so distant, so mystical, and uninterested and involved in the affairs of mundane living. Some even doubt whether God really exists. If He does exist multitudes think little more of God than a good luck charm, a fairy tale, or some fantasy of our own creation.
Why is it so hard for us as we grow older. Little children believe in the Tooth Fairy, the Sand Man, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and in Jesus Christ and God the Father. As we grow older we learn much about fantasies and fairy tales from our childhood. Is it because of this that many adults lose belief in a real God who desires an authentic relationship with people?
God wants to talk to people, to relate to them, to help them, and most of all to redeem them from shameful pasts.
How old were you when you first remember sinning? What did you do? Did you tell a lie, cheat on a test, spread gossip, tease and torment some class mate? Do you remember when you had the choice of doing something right and doing something that violated everything you had been taught was right? Do you remember feeling drawn like a moth to a flame to some sin that seemed so luring but afterward felt so cheap and dirty? How old were you when you lost your innocence?
There was a time when people walked with God, talked to Him, and enjoyed His companionship as you would a family member or valued friend. There was an age of innocence but that was all lost with a tempting thought, a seemingly hidden act of rebellion, and tragically a loss of innocence. The tale is as old as time and been recounted time and time again.
It starts with the crafty serpent. [Gen 3:1] We fight an enemy who lives, breathes, and exists to draw us away from the Father and to trip us up in sin stealing our innocence. Our innocence was lost forever that fateful day in the Garden of Eden. Satan’s argument was persuasive and the fruit hanging from the forbidden tree in the middle of garden was a delight to the eyes and seemed good and desirable. [Gen 3:6]. It always is. Our enemy’s tactics have not changed. The deceiver puts the thoughts in our heads, justifies the reward we will get in exchange for our rebellion against God and His ways, and the temptation most always is delightful to the eyes and desirable. We fall for the lie, pick the fruit, put it to our lips and pass it on to others.
Here in lies the problem. The sin that looks so tempting and delightful leaves us feeling shamed, dirty, and guilty. We are not fulfilled as the Father of Lies said we would be. The truth is our innocence is gone and we find ourselves alienated from our Creator. Instead of walking with God and enjoying His companionship we immediately begin trying to hide the truth and cover up the evidence of our rebellion.
Honestly, what can we do and where can we go to hide from God’s presence and watchful eye? [Ps 139:3] “You understand my thought from afar, You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.” Get this, Nothing we do is hidden from the watchful eye of God. Nothing. Nothing done in the dark, nothing done in hiding, nothing done when we think we are all alone with our thoughts. God sees and is very acquainted with our every thought and our every action. There are no excuses, no hiding the truth, and as the old saying goes, “Our sins will find us out.”
Adam and Eve heard God coming and tried to hide. In the end their sin was exposed. What frightens me is that many people when they most need God to forgive, to restore, and to revive their sin scarred hearts, try to hide in the shadows where they begin to spiritually die. When they do come into God’s presence all they can feel is shame, remorse, and condemnation. If these feelings persist soon they quit coming into God’s presence and pursue a life of pain, passing pleasure, and the penalty of God’s chastisement.
There are devastating consequences to sin. Deep consequences. The serpent was sentenced to life crawling on his belly and being continually at strife with man kind. [Gen 3:14-15]. To the woman God multiplied the pain of child birth. [Gen 3:16] To the man God sentenced Him to hard labor all the days of his life. [Gen 3:17-19]. Adam and Eve’s sin affected more than just them. It is still affecting each of us and all people who live on this earth to this very day.
It pains my heart to know the loss of innocence. It goes further than this. My great grand parent’s, grand parent’s, and parent’s sin affected me and my sin is and will impact my children, grand children, and great grand children. We are literally killing ourselves spiritually and the future generations with our loss of innocence.
In spite of all this, God’s grace is greater than our sin. [Rom 5:20] There is forgiveness [I Jn 1:9], there is spiritual renewal and times of restoration, and there is victory over sin. [Rom 6:12-14] Sin does not have to be our master. I regret the loss of innocence in my life (back on the day Adam and Eve chose to sin) and subsequently on the day I chose to reach out to taste the forbidden fruit of sin that looked delightful and became the desire of my heart for myself. We cannot give up in our striving to defeat sin.
I have found great comfort in [II Pet 1:3] “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” Our innocence may be gone but striving against sin and for future generations must never wane.
This might seem far fetched to many. God seems so distant, so mystical, and uninterested and involved in the affairs of mundane living. Some even doubt whether God really exists. If He does exist multitudes think little more of God than a good luck charm, a fairy tale, or some fantasy of our own creation.
Why is it so hard for us as we grow older. Little children believe in the Tooth Fairy, the Sand Man, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and in Jesus Christ and God the Father. As we grow older we learn much about fantasies and fairy tales from our childhood. Is it because of this that many adults lose belief in a real God who desires an authentic relationship with people?
God wants to talk to people, to relate to them, to help them, and most of all to redeem them from shameful pasts.
How old were you when you first remember sinning? What did you do? Did you tell a lie, cheat on a test, spread gossip, tease and torment some class mate? Do you remember when you had the choice of doing something right and doing something that violated everything you had been taught was right? Do you remember feeling drawn like a moth to a flame to some sin that seemed so luring but afterward felt so cheap and dirty? How old were you when you lost your innocence?
There was a time when people walked with God, talked to Him, and enjoyed His companionship as you would a family member or valued friend. There was an age of innocence but that was all lost with a tempting thought, a seemingly hidden act of rebellion, and tragically a loss of innocence. The tale is as old as time and been recounted time and time again.
It starts with the crafty serpent. [Gen 3:1] We fight an enemy who lives, breathes, and exists to draw us away from the Father and to trip us up in sin stealing our innocence. Our innocence was lost forever that fateful day in the Garden of Eden. Satan’s argument was persuasive and the fruit hanging from the forbidden tree in the middle of garden was a delight to the eyes and seemed good and desirable. [Gen 3:6]. It always is. Our enemy’s tactics have not changed. The deceiver puts the thoughts in our heads, justifies the reward we will get in exchange for our rebellion against God and His ways, and the temptation most always is delightful to the eyes and desirable. We fall for the lie, pick the fruit, put it to our lips and pass it on to others.
Here in lies the problem. The sin that looks so tempting and delightful leaves us feeling shamed, dirty, and guilty. We are not fulfilled as the Father of Lies said we would be. The truth is our innocence is gone and we find ourselves alienated from our Creator. Instead of walking with God and enjoying His companionship we immediately begin trying to hide the truth and cover up the evidence of our rebellion.
Honestly, what can we do and where can we go to hide from God’s presence and watchful eye? [Ps 139:3] “You understand my thought from afar, You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.” Get this, Nothing we do is hidden from the watchful eye of God. Nothing. Nothing done in the dark, nothing done in hiding, nothing done when we think we are all alone with our thoughts. God sees and is very acquainted with our every thought and our every action. There are no excuses, no hiding the truth, and as the old saying goes, “Our sins will find us out.”
Adam and Eve heard God coming and tried to hide. In the end their sin was exposed. What frightens me is that many people when they most need God to forgive, to restore, and to revive their sin scarred hearts, try to hide in the shadows where they begin to spiritually die. When they do come into God’s presence all they can feel is shame, remorse, and condemnation. If these feelings persist soon they quit coming into God’s presence and pursue a life of pain, passing pleasure, and the penalty of God’s chastisement.
There are devastating consequences to sin. Deep consequences. The serpent was sentenced to life crawling on his belly and being continually at strife with man kind. [Gen 3:14-15]. To the woman God multiplied the pain of child birth. [Gen 3:16] To the man God sentenced Him to hard labor all the days of his life. [Gen 3:17-19]. Adam and Eve’s sin affected more than just them. It is still affecting each of us and all people who live on this earth to this very day.
It pains my heart to know the loss of innocence. It goes further than this. My great grand parent’s, grand parent’s, and parent’s sin affected me and my sin is and will impact my children, grand children, and great grand children. We are literally killing ourselves spiritually and the future generations with our loss of innocence.
In spite of all this, God’s grace is greater than our sin. [Rom 5:20] There is forgiveness [I Jn 1:9], there is spiritual renewal and times of restoration, and there is victory over sin. [Rom 6:12-14] Sin does not have to be our master. I regret the loss of innocence in my life (back on the day Adam and Eve chose to sin) and subsequently on the day I chose to reach out to taste the forbidden fruit of sin that looked delightful and became the desire of my heart for myself. We cannot give up in our striving to defeat sin.
I have found great comfort in [II Pet 1:3] “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” Our innocence may be gone but striving against sin and for future generations must never wane.
No comments:
Post a Comment