Who knows the mind of God? Not me, that’s for sure. I don’t understand the way this whole creation thing works. It seems like we could have all been made perfect and never fall from grace with sin. Then everything would be rainbows and lollipops forever and ever, amen.
Okay, I know that doesn’t work either. That would mean that we would not have been given a free will, a free mind, and the ability to choose our own destiny.
Isn’t it funny, that when Adam had perfection right in his own two hands, he still wasn’t satisfied. He wanted more. While he didn’t understand the mind of God anymore than we do today, he somehow thought that if only he could be like God, that things would be even better.
Better than perfection? Yeah, it takes mankind to have such a crazy thought. We come up with good things, new innovations and then, almost immediately, come up with some sick and twisted way to use that innovation for evil.
That is the way that man has thought ever since he first exercised free will and chose sin. I wonder if later that day, Adam wished he had never done so. I know that when I sin, there comes that sick feeling in my mind and spirit that wishes I could undo what I’ve done. Sadly, there really is no going back. Even with forgiveness, we still reap what we’ve sown.
Even if no one ever finds out what we did, what we thought, or what we planned… we still know. It preys on our mind and our soul. It’s like we relive that sin (and even elaborate on it) over and over and over again.
God knows what is happening. All those times we think about unrepentant sin, we are sinning multiple times. For Christians, each sin is something that moves us out of fellowship with God. We don’t lose our salvation but we do lose out ability to communicate with God for a time.
All you have to do to re-establish that link is to confess your sin to God and honestly and wholeheartedly ask for forgiveness and be willing to do what God wants you to do with your life. Sometimes, just the confession is enough but other times, God will want you to apologize to the individual(s) you have sinned against.
You may not think it is a big thing to be out of fellowship with God, but I will guarantee that there comes a time of reckoning. Things can start going crazy. Your life can start coming apart and, when you cry out to God, he does hear you but he can’t stop you from the troubles you have brought on yourself.
Some people think that when Christians sin, they lose their salvation. Some even think that Christians must do good works to continue to earn salvation even after they have accepted Jesus Christ’s free gift of pardon from sin.
Neither is the case. When Jesus hung on the cross and, just before he voluntarily gave up his spirit and died, he cried out “It is Finished.” And it was. And it still is. And so it will be forever.
He saw all of our sins and forgave and died for each and every one of them. That includes sins of those who become Christians, both before and after they received their gift of salvation.
There is no need for more. You can’t add to the great gift that Jesus gave to mankind. You can’t earn anything more than his gift. If more were needed, then why in the world would God himself come to the earth as a lowly man, born as a weak baby and live through the same troubles and struggles of life that we go through?
It took Jesus and only Jesus to save us from our sins. When the thieves hung on the cross next to Jesus, he said to one that he would be in heaven with him THAT day. He didn’t ask him to get down from the cross and witness to people. He didn’t ask him to go and do good works. He didn’t even tell him to stop thinking evil thoughts (which he must of continued to do because, after all, he was a sinner like the rest of us.)
What Jesus said was as you believe in me, you are with me and will be with me forever. God would not require more from anyone else for salvation. God sees us all as equal. We are all his creation. He loves us all equally.
He wants us to accept Jesus’ gift of salvation and to live with him in heaven forever. He does ask for his believers to follow his commandments and his direction. Our salvation doesn’t depend on it but the joy of our walk with God does.
Luke 23: 39-43
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. ”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”