Humanity against God
When reading Matthew 26, about Jesus and his disciples in Gethsemane, how many times do we find ourselves thinking, “What a lousy bunch of disciples Jesus picked. I for one would never have fallen asleep.” Then we have Adam and Eve in Genesis, and the origin of sin. ”If that was me, I never would have eaten of the forbidden tree.” Adam and Eve could only hold on for so long, before they gave into temptation. We are just like our predecessors; we give in to the world. Luckily there is a way to escape this. We need to take the step out of the darkness.
Rebelliously we break out, having the desire of ruling our own world, thinking that we can do so much better. Wanting things to be the way we want them to be, we selfishly demand control over our lives. We choose our own path, instead of the one true way that Jesus already has laid out for us. We give into temptation after temptation, and explore temptation after temptation. In this, we starting to love the temptations, love the world. Jesus warns us directly against the danger of loving the world. “You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God,” (Jam 4:4). “The most characteristic feature of sin is that it is directed against God.” (Milne, 130). Sin is an act against God’s will and intention. In this, God is crying out to us: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Pro 4:23). The darkness of the world can consume our hearts, then lies can takes over and evil is able to get the best of us.
Adam and Eve had a desire to be like God, to be almighty and to have full control over their own will and lives. That desire we cannot fully escape. We believe that true freedom comes in the ability of having our own will. In freedom we find happiness, right? When we are rooted in evil, our whole being can be turned against God. In that we also turn ourselves against people around us, and our surroundings. When there is emptiness in us, what we give of ourselves will also turn out to be just that: empty. If our hearts are rebellious, we bring rebellion out to our society.
Our selfishness and self-centeredness is controlling our whole being, and it is making us the god over our own lives. That leaves no space for a God to encounter us. We ourselves are the god over our choices, our lives. We choose to be our creator. God is our creator and He created our hearts to be a place of peace. When we do not have peace in our hearts, how can we then find rest in God? ”But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Rom 2:5). God is so serious about our hearts and the need for its protection that several times in the Bible He goes directly towards our sins, and tells us to turn our hearts against it. Scripture tells us to put death what belongs to our sinful nature.
The devil has a hold of us, and our hearts have turned against God. The devil keeps feeding our hearts with lies. Lies about ourselves and our worth, and it is sucking the hope out of us. Our heart pleads for reconciliation between the broken man and His creator. Like Adam and Eve, we reject God out of fear. No wonder we run of when He approaches us. From our hearts comes evil thoughts, and God’s aim is our hearts. Adam and Eve’s sin got them thrown out of Eden.
It is in our nature to fear God, because we feel shame. We are not superior to God. The amazing part is that God blesses us with wisdom when we are in fear.
We attempt to bury our sin and our mistakes, but what we need to realize is that we are in fact burying it alive. If we are in need of redemption, our sin still lives inside our heart. Deal with it! Gods love and forgiveness will make the fear flee. So that through faith in a loving God and forgiveness, we can stand justified before Him. He is the light who provides freedom. ”Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.”
(Psalm 119:105).
Hanne G. Undheim
(One out of seven essays (nr.5) written while reading "Know The Truth" in Maui the fall of 07)
Just thought I would share it
Rebelliously we break out, having the desire of ruling our own world, thinking that we can do so much better. Wanting things to be the way we want them to be, we selfishly demand control over our lives. We choose our own path, instead of the one true way that Jesus already has laid out for us. We give into temptation after temptation, and explore temptation after temptation. In this, we starting to love the temptations, love the world. Jesus warns us directly against the danger of loving the world. “You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God,” (Jam 4:4). “The most characteristic feature of sin is that it is directed against God.” (Milne, 130). Sin is an act against God’s will and intention. In this, God is crying out to us: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Pro 4:23). The darkness of the world can consume our hearts, then lies can takes over and evil is able to get the best of us.
Adam and Eve had a desire to be like God, to be almighty and to have full control over their own will and lives. That desire we cannot fully escape. We believe that true freedom comes in the ability of having our own will. In freedom we find happiness, right? When we are rooted in evil, our whole being can be turned against God. In that we also turn ourselves against people around us, and our surroundings. When there is emptiness in us, what we give of ourselves will also turn out to be just that: empty. If our hearts are rebellious, we bring rebellion out to our society.
Our selfishness and self-centeredness is controlling our whole being, and it is making us the god over our own lives. That leaves no space for a God to encounter us. We ourselves are the god over our choices, our lives. We choose to be our creator. God is our creator and He created our hearts to be a place of peace. When we do not have peace in our hearts, how can we then find rest in God? ”But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Rom 2:5). God is so serious about our hearts and the need for its protection that several times in the Bible He goes directly towards our sins, and tells us to turn our hearts against it. Scripture tells us to put death what belongs to our sinful nature.
The devil has a hold of us, and our hearts have turned against God. The devil keeps feeding our hearts with lies. Lies about ourselves and our worth, and it is sucking the hope out of us. Our heart pleads for reconciliation between the broken man and His creator. Like Adam and Eve, we reject God out of fear. No wonder we run of when He approaches us. From our hearts comes evil thoughts, and God’s aim is our hearts. Adam and Eve’s sin got them thrown out of Eden.
It is in our nature to fear God, because we feel shame. We are not superior to God. The amazing part is that God blesses us with wisdom when we are in fear.
We attempt to bury our sin and our mistakes, but what we need to realize is that we are in fact burying it alive. If we are in need of redemption, our sin still lives inside our heart. Deal with it! Gods love and forgiveness will make the fear flee. So that through faith in a loving God and forgiveness, we can stand justified before Him. He is the light who provides freedom. ”Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.”
(Psalm 119:105).
Hanne G. Undheim
(One out of seven essays (nr.5) written while reading "Know The Truth" in Maui the fall of 07)
Just thought I would share it
Labels: essay
posted by Hanne G | Monday, October 06, 2008
|
6 comments
