In the beginning God said, this is all yours, except that one tree over there. To Adam & Eve, that was a pretty good deal…….for a while. But mankind could not live with that deal, and broke it. God was rather put off. Everything that He had done was thrown back in his face, so he banished them from the place he had created especially for them.
So with their new found knowledge, mankind tries to do it on their own. This does not go well, and God was rather put off. It is not a good thing to put off One who can flood the world, but God put all the good ones on a boat, and did just that.
So there was a new beginning, but again, mankind being what it is, showed its true nature, and God needed to show them yet again what He wanted. He sent a man, Moses, to present the new rules. However, if man could not deal with one simple rule (stay away from that tree!), how was it going to work with 10 new rules (it depends on how you define covet)? People tried, and created all sorts of other rules that would “help” them keep the 10. It was a massive failure, as mankind continued to do something they did exceptionally well, mess up a good thing.
It was again time, but God, as a father would, had promised Noah that he would not flood the world again. Mankind had thrown everything back in God’s face, but God still loved them as only a father can. He was a just God, so letting them all off the hook was not really an option. The consequences for their actions needed to happen. The price needed to be paid, but they were incapable of paying that price. And he loved them…….
He had a much better plan, and sent another man. This man was special, he was a part of God, and at the same time, was God. Mankind did not get this, but that was ok. This man was perfect in every way, and agreed to pay the price. The price was the death of an innocent, perfect man. This man, Jesus, agreed to pay that price under one condition. The terms were agreed to, and it was done. He felt all the heartbreak, pain, shame, betrayal as all men do, and died a horrible, painful death, as He said he would.
But being God, death could not hold Him, and on a day we celebrate as Easter he returned to his rightful place.
He paid the price as only a father could, and the condition was that this would be payment in full. Payment for all the times man had messed up in the past, and payment for all the times man would certainly mess up in the future. He paid the price for all of us, and only asks one thing in return:
Accept my paying the price for you as a gift, and let my spirit live in you showing you the way God wants you to live. You will try to live up to the standards and will fail, but that is ok. I will instruct you, and help you get back up on your feet. I already paid the price for your failures. Just strive to live the way God desires, and one day you will see Me face to face.
The price was high, but “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved “. (John 3:16-17)
Have you accepted the gift, or are you still trying to do it on your own?
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