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Life and Death
by "Jesus said 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?' " (John 11:25-26) It is written that God holds the power of life in His hands. He existed before the foundation of the world, He has been in control throughout all history, He is among His people in this present life, and He will reign forever. Life came forth from His hands, and this life is still evident in the creation that surrounds us. His most treasured creation is man and woman, and He made them with the capacity to walk in relationship with Him. The Lord in His wisdom knows that true relationship is based on love, and that true love flows from the choice to love. He therefore gave men and women a choice. Though as Creator He holds the right to our lives, He allowed us to choose to let Him rule our lives or to rule our lives on our own. The Bible says that we all have chosen our own way: "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is no one who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned asideThere is none who does good, no, not one" (Romans 3:10-12). The consequence of our turning aside from God and ruling our own lives is death. Death is separation from God, and there are three ways in which we are separated: relationally, physically, and eternally. Relationally, we are as a rose that was cut at its stem and therefore lacks access to the life-giving nutrients of the soil it was taken from. Slowly, this rose will wither away. When we chose our own way, we chose to be cut from our life-source: we separated ourselves from His divine protection, provision, peace, power and presence. Slowly, we wither awayand it is evidenced in our broken relationships with others. Physically, we all experience death as well as the pain and suffering that potentially accompanies it. None can escape physical death. The final consequence of our choice to go our own way is eternal separation from God. When we choose to rule our own lives, we are making an eternal decision. We are communicating to God that we do not want His hand in our lives now or forever. Eternal separation is the worst of all deaths, because it is irreversible. Our future would be bleak if the story were to end here. But thank God for making another way! The Word of God says: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). The word "gift" communicates that we cannot earn our way back to God. Only the blood of Jesus takes away our sin and the consequence of separation. He bought us with His blood, because only the blood of a righteous man could heal us from the sickness of our separation from God. Just as a sick man in need of a blood transfusion is given the opportunity to choose to receive healthy blood from another, so we are given the opportunity to be healed by the blood of Christ. If we choose to receive His blood, we are choosing to give God His rightful place as owner of our lives. Though we will still die physically, we will be restored relationally with God, and we will have eternal life with Him. In this life, those who believe will be restored to God's protection, provision, peace, power and presence. His presence in our lives will bring healing to our relationships. In the life to come, He has promised for those who believe: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain" (Revelation 21:4). Do you believe? Copyright Jenna Fernandez www.eternalencounter.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |