This Isn't the World God Wanted

This isn’t the world God wanted. When God created the world, He intended for humans to live with Him in harmony. However—the enemy—the devil himself, had different plans. He used deception and trickery to persuade Eve to commit the first ungodly act: disobedience. Adam and Eve had one rule: don’t eat the fruit. But what happened? The devil came along and cunningly convinced the first female that eating the fruit wasn’t that bad and that God was even keeping things from her by telling her not to eat it. But then, when Eve ate the fruit and gave it to Adam, something terrible happened: God and man became separated. Sure, God was still there, and He still cared for His dear image-bearers more than they could ever know or comprehend, but actions have consequences, so God condemned them for theirs.

The punishment for disobedience is death, simple as that. But God is a gracious God.

Frankly, when Adam and Eve first ate the fruit, they probably should've died then. After all, God's command to Adam was "you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die". Why else would they have hidden after eating of it? They realized their wrongdoing and knew the consequences. Yet, they didn't die right away, because God is a master storyteller, the king of using the circumstances we place ourselves in for His glory. 

That doesn't mean this is the way God wanted things to be. He doesn't want to be separated from His children. He wants us to be free of sin and joined together with Him. So, God put His plan into action. He sent the Son of Man to live a perfect life—sinless—and take our punishment, our death. And why? So we may be joined with Him and receive eternal life! Why else do you think we'd be called the bride of Christ? What role has a bride if not to be joined with her husband in perfect unity, according to God's plan from the very beginning?

Not only this, but God's not done yet. Once the bride is joined with Him, God's making all things new. Everyone who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, as Master and Redeemer, will be saved and be brought back to life, never to die again! Sadly, those who refuse Him will be brought back to life only to be thrown into the lake of fire for a second death (Revelation 20), along with the devil who's been working against us since the beginning. Then, God's making all things new. The heavens and earth we see now will be gone, but we'll get to experience perfect life with our perfect God forever. Hallelujah! Praise God that we get to see this! But this only goes for the people who live for Jesus, making Him a greater priority than themselves. Are you one of them?