Broken & separated, 2 main results which are deeply ingrained in
our fallen nature as an inevitable consequence to the sin of Adam & Eve
when they've decided to disobey God. Adam chose to trust his wife more than
trusting God's word; thinking that what God didn't really mean what He said to
him & his wife; therefore once Adam chose to eat from the forbidden fruit; separation
& death permeated the human nature instantaneously.
*God is the source of peace; therefore separation
caused anxiety.
* God is the source of identity; where thru Him we can
understand ourselves; therefore separation caused inner conflict &
disturbance.
* God is the source of light; therefore separation caused
darkness.
* God is the source of satisfaction; therefore
separation caused drought & hunger
* God is the source of Love; therefore separation
caused hatred.
* God is the source of life; therefore separation
caused death.
Some people may think: "but that
was their faults, what that has to do with me? Why should I bear this painful
inheritance in my nature?"
Well, the bible says:
"12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the
world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone
sinned... 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over
many…… 18 Yes, Adam's one sin brings
condemnation for everyone" (Roman 5 / NLT)
"Surely
I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm
51: 5/ NKJV)
Death as the result of sin went into the human
nature & got spread like cancer, & as we're all
are formed from the same nature of Adam; therefore we're all got infected with
"sin", we all inherit this sinful nature from our ancestors;
therefore we're all born with a corrupted nature which has the will & tendency
to sin, we're all born sinners & love to do sin!! Man has lost his own free
will to choose what is good & right, all have become self-centered instead
of God-centered:
"11 There is no
one who understands; no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; they have
together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one? (Romans
3: 12)
"15 I don't really
understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead,
I do what I hate….. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me
that does it. 18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my
sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. 19 I want to do what is
good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway."
(Romans 7 / NLT)
See, We've inherited this fallen & corrupted
nature; thru which we've has lost our relationship with: God, ourselves, &
with others!! We're no longer able to love God, others, nor ourselves because
we're continuously carrying this burden of guilt & this feel of unworthy.
"Oh,
what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated
by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord"
(Romans 7: 24-25 / NLT)
God did not stand still when He saw us groaning
from the bondage of death & separation; instead He sent His only begotten
son "Jesus" to our world, taking flesh like ours; yet without sin; in
order to heal our brokenness & corruption.
·
Only Thru Jesus Christ: you & I could be
restored once again by receiving a new nature which loves sin no more &
longs for what is good & righteous thru baptism:
"17
For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But
even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all
who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man,
Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but
Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new
life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners.
But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous"
(Romans 5 / NLY)
·
Only Thru Jesus Christ: you & I could be reconciled
with God, with ourselves & with our brothers & sisters in humanity,
bringing us to the presence of God as holy & blameless:
"20
And through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything
in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. 21 This
includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated
from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to
himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has
brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand
before him without a single fault". (Colossians 1/ NLT)
·
Only Thru Jesus Christ: you & I became the
children of God by adoption, you & I regaining our free will to conquer sin
& refuse to obey our old sinful nature, & if we sin due to our
weakness; our sins are forgiven by repentance:
"24
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to
sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter
2)
"I am writing to you who are God's
children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus" (1 John 2: 12
/ NLT)
·
Only Thru Jesus Christ: our thirst could be
quenched & our hunger could be filled:
"And
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall
never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6: 35 /
NKJV)
And many other privileges
we've gained thru Jesus Christ; yet we continue doing as what Adam has did
once:
·
We chose death over
life by getting away from the word of God, choosing our own lust.
·
We try buying &
gathering things in our own account to help us feel secured; however we end up
void & in sever anguish when we find out that these things are like vapor
in the wind,
·
We chose to put trust
in people instead of putting trust in God, we keep running after the creatures
by entering so many relationships in an attempt to fill our hunger & quench
our thirst instead of returning to the
creator to fill us.
We become oblivious so many times to the fact that our
hearts were formed on the shape of God; that filling it with worldly things
will cause no satisfaction, only more pain, no other shape could enter to fill this vacuum
made in our hear.. it is as if you're trying to fit a circle inside a triangle
.. there'll always be spaces not filled
within the triangle !!
And we go thru these vicious circles over & over
because we tend to think that God is like people, our greatest struggle is in not
believing in God's complete, unconditional & unwavering love, we think that
cannot accept us as people have refused us many times !!
In his
secret journal "Henri Nouwen" writes the following:
“I kept
running around it in large or small circles, always looking for someone or
something able to convince me of my Belovedness. Self-rejection is the greatest
enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls
us the "Beloved". Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our
existence.”
You have
to trust the place that is solid, the place where you can say yes to God’s love
even when you do not feel it. Right now you feel nothing except emptiness and
the lack of strength to choose. But keep saying, “God loves me, and God’s love
is enough.” You have to choose the solid place over and over again and return
to it after every failure. (p 8)
“…. The
world tells you many lies about who you are, and you simply have to be
realistic enough to remind yourself of this. Every time you feel hurt,
offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: 'These feelings,
strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth,
even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God,
precious in God's eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in
an everlasting belief.”
~ Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World ~
And when we believe our own belovedness, filled with
this kind of divine love; only then we can pour out love to others, & only
then we can open our hands to receive true love from others, only when we
return to the centre, to our centre:
"Our true challenge is to return to the
center, to the heart, and to find there the gentle voice that speaks to us and
affirms us in a way no human voice ever could. The basis of all ministry is the
experience of God's unlimited and unlimiting acceptance of us as beloved
children, an acceptance so full, so total, and all-embracing, that it sets us
free from our compulsion to be seen, praised, and admired and frees us for
Christ, who leads on the road of service.
"This experience of God's acceptance frees
us from our needy self and thus creates new space where we can pay selfless
attention to others. This new freedom in Christ allows us to move in the world
uninhibited by our compulsions and to act creatively even when we are laughed
at and rejected, even when our words and actions lead us to death." ~Henri
Nouwen, The Selfless Way of Christ ~
Jesus came to proclaim
good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for
the captives, release from darkness for the prisoners, to comfort all who
mourn, provide for those who grieve, to bestow on us a crown of beauty instead
of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, & a garment of praise instead
of a spirit of despair.
Will you
chose to put your trust in someone who would never fail you, someone worthy of
your trust? Will you chose Jesus to dwell in your heart to heal its brokenness,
binding up your wounds?
The choice
is only yours
You can listen to this Hymn & sing it as a prayer:
Hear Me (Tears into Wine) - Jim Brickman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB0tvJSM0lo
@ Jackie.Y.G.
