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1) Where Did We
Come From?
In the Holy
Scriptures we learn about the creation of the heavens and the earth.
We learn about the creation of all the creatures and vegetation; and
we learn about the creation of Adam and Eve, our human parents from
the dust of the ground. We also learn about a rebellion that took
place in heaven and how that rebellion was transferred to this earth
and how our parents were caught up in that rebellion. We learn about
God's plans for overcoming that rebellion by sending His Son, Jesus
Christ, our Creator, to live for us, die for us, and to share with us
His mission and ministry to save others. We learn from Him the
principles of life, how to love, be patient and kind, how to forgive
one another and do what is right, how to love, accept and serve others
as He has loved, accepted and served us. We also learn of how He wants
to share His inheritance with us throughout all eternity. We do not
comprehend all that He means to us and has done for us.
Consider this:
100 years ago, where were you and I?
We were nothing,
nonexistent, nada. We were nothing, then we were conceived by our
parents, and we developed and grew and were nourished in our mother's
womb. Then we were born and we lived and grew up, hopefully nurtured
by the love of our parents, and we received our nutrition and oxygen
from the products of the earth.
The sun rises
every morning to bring light and warmth and energy to the earth and
its inhabitants. Photosynthesis, the complex synthesis of putting
together various elements of the earth to create plants that are
entirely different from their independent elements, is a mystery that
only God understands. And it is a science by which He beautifies the
earth and feeds all its inhabitants. Radiant energy and light from the
sun and the moisture of rain on the soil cause the elements of earth
to seep into and nourish the seed and roots which then form the
carbohydrates in the chlorophyll containing tissues of plants.
Magnificent planning! Incredible execution! This does not just happen
in some exotic laboratory somewhere. It happens all around us in all
the plants that exist on earth. All the grasses, bushes, flowers, and
trees are created by this process. It's a miracle of the science of
life. The plants provide our primary food source and also the oxygen
we breathe. Without plant life, we could not exist. We literally were
created from the sperm and the ovum, and from the elements and
nutrients of the earth, from the dust of the ground, so to speak.
Likewise,
studying the scriptures to get to know God and to know His will for
our life is something that is similar to photosynthesis. However,
instead of the sun's energy that synthesizes the moisture of rain with
elements of the earth to nourish plant life which becomes our food
source and nourishment, it is God Himself and Jesus who synthesize the
moisture of the Holy Spirit, representing the rain, with the elements
of God's Word, the Bible, that provides spiritual nourishment and
growth for our lives. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (John
6:35). Jesus provides all the nutrients necessary for our spiritual
life, health, and vitality. Temporal bread becomes beneficial and
life-sustaining only as it is eaten, digested, and assimilated.
Similarly, Christ, the living bread from heaven (John 6:51), must be
fully eaten, digested, and assimilated into our characters. We must
continually nourish our spiritual lives by feeding on Christ who is
the bread of life. One writer said, "Our Saviour is the bread of life,
and it is by beholding His love, by receiving it into the soul, that
we feed upon the bread which came down from heaven" (Thoughts from the
Mount of Blessing, p. 112).
God reveals
Himself to us in His created works, He reveals Himself to us in the
Bible, He reveals Himself most fully to us in the life of Jesus, and
He reveals Himself to us by His Holy Spirit. God's creation of the
physical world, including you and me, is an expression of the thought
and works and love of God. God created us from the genes of our
parents and from the elements of the earth. From essentially nothing
to forming a body for us, He gives us the breath of life,
intelligence, and He shares His Holy Spirit with us in proportion as
we desire to be filled with it. So why has He done this for you and
me?
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2) Why Are We Here?
Everyone wonders
why we are here. Few people have a good answer. We do know that we
live in a rebellious world. God wants us to know the difference
between good and evil. In life we choose what values we will live by
whether they are good values or not so good values. We are witnesses
of the good and evil about us, and our lives are influenced by good
and evil. The quality of the life that we live is determined by the
quality of choices that were made for us as we were growing up and the
quality of choices that we make for ourselves as adults.
We are here
experiencing life in its rebellious state, and God wants us to learn
from our experience the lessons of life. He has given to us a lesson
book to study so that we may be successful learning the lessons of
life. He wants us to learn from our mistakes and from the mistakes of
others so that we may be prepared for the life to come.
What are the
lessons God would have us to learn? The only way I know how to
summarize it is to quote Jesus, "Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." That's what
God would have us to learn. We need to know God and what it is that He
is trying to tell us. We need to learn that we can trust Him, and we
need to learn how to live by His instruction, His nourishment so to
speak. It's the only safe way for us to live in this rebellious world.
At the beginning
of Christ's ministry, he went to a wedding in Cana. The wedding party
ran out of wine and His mother came to Him and said, "They have no
wine." Jesus said, "What does that have to do with me" (John 2:4)? His
mother said to the servants nearby, "Whatever He says to you, do it"
(John 2:5). Now, Mary didn't know what Jesus was going to do. However,
Mary knew Jesus. She knew that Jesus had a way of solving people's
problems, and she relied on Him to solve this problem. Jesus told the
servants to fill the waterpots with water. When that was done, he told
them to draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. And you
know the rest of the story. The water was turned to wine. The point
here is that Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to
do. They did it and the problem was solved.
When we learn
that we can trust God and His Word and that what He tells us to do is
what is best for us, we will be blessed beyond our comprehension. His
blessings come most fully to those who are obedient to Him, to those
who do what He asks them to do. When we accept His leading in our
lives and learn the lessons He would have us to learn we will be more
fully prepared for life. And as we learn that Jesus is there for us,
He helps us to solve our problems.
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3) So, Where Are We
Going and why?
The Bible tells
us what will happen to the good and the evil. God does not leave us
ignorant as to our future. The Bible shares with us an insight about
where we are going and why. From the scriptures, we know the future.
We are told what is going to happen and why. We know that Jesus is
coming again, and He wants us to live with Him. We know that after a
period of time spent in Heaven, the New Jerusalem will be transported
to this earth. John tells us, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for
the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was
no more sea, then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they
shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no
more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for
the former things have passed away' " (Revelation 21:1-4).
Now why would
God do that for us, a sinful and rebellious race? He is going to
transport the Holy City, New Jerusalem, from heaven to earth. He is
going to dwell with us and be our Father, our brother, and friend. The
earth will become the headquarters of the universe, the place where
God dwells. It's wonderful and I'm looking forward to it, but why
would He do that for us?
Again we have an
insight into the why in Christ's words in Revelation 3:21. Jesus said,
"To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I
also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."
What does
sitting down with Jesus on His throne imply? A throne implies a seat
of government. A throne is a place from which a king rules his empire.
Christ sitting down with His Father on His Father's throne implies
that Christ is involved with His Father in the government of the
universe. The throne of God implies the seat of the Government of God.
God is the Creator and governor of the universe. Jesus said, "To him
who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne." To me that
implies that those who overcome will be involved with Jesus in the
administration of His universe. What a vision, what a hope, and what
an irony!
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Conclusion:
This is the
irony: The mighty Lucifer and his angels rebelled against their
Creator and lost their position in the heavens and in the government
of the universe. You and I, who were nothing before conception and
birth, were parented, grew up and nourished by the elements and
products of the earth. We received spiritual nourishment from God
through His Word, we were watered by the Holy Spirit, and we received
and accepted Jesus to show us the way. As we are faithful to the
Spirit of God who lives in us and leads us, He teaches us how to live,
and how to love God and our neighbor as ourselves; and we become
prepared by the Spirit of God to be witnesses and messengers for
Christ - not only here and now, but also in the future to the
universe, ultimately taking the place of Lucifer and his angels. And
we will be faithful messengers and witnesses for God and for Christ
because we know from experience the hell that we have suffered because
of sin and sickness and death and because of disobedience to the laws
of nature, physical and spiritual. |
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