When God created man, He did so with the purpose of living eternally, having a happy life, free from illnesses, corruption, pain and suffering, we can see this in Genesis 1:27 to 29, which says:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
However, he gave man the right to choose between eternal life, the kingdom or dominion, the freedom of direct communion with God or giving up everything that was offered to him in exchange for disobedience. He only had to make a choice, between eating from the tree of life and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which would bring him death (Genesis 2:9 – 16 and 17). And man made the wrong choice, choosing death instead of life, preferring disobedience, being led by the eyes, by the desire to want to be more than what was proposed to him by God.
Therefore, we see that by one man sin entered the world and by sin death, and death passed unto all men (Romans 5:12). Could the dear reader say that this happened with Adam and Eve, but it would not happen to you, would it? How many times have we traded spiritual life for what is visible, tangible and immediate. Sometimes we manage to find time for so many material things and we don't have time to learn about it when the subject is eternity, regarding God, whom we cannot see with carnal eyes, although we can verify His works. Are we not also making wrong choices in our lives?
It is known to all that this earthly life will end, and where is your hope? What will happen to you when your life here ends?
Today we also have a choice to make, obey God, overcome ourselves, break down the barriers that separate us from God (sin – Isaiah 59:2) and prepare ourselves to meet with Him, for His promise is “... To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).
Note that the tree of life described in Genesis continues to be offered to man. This leads us to believe that God's project for man to live happily and free from all evil continues, however, the choice also continues to be made, with only one difference, man was in God's paradise and chose to leave, today he is outside and can choose to enter.
But for that, it is necessary to be prepared, knowing and practicing God's will.
We are at your service to help you understand the sacred scriptures, which contain God's will for man. Thus you will be able to be prepared to meet with the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes in His glory, being among the Lord's sheep and having the right to the tree of life, of God's paradise.
Today you have the opportunity, but no one knows until when we will have it. See what Matthew tells us in 25:31-33:
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Decide which side you will be on, for today we can change paths, but on that day it will be judgment and there will be no more opportunity to prepare, nor place for repentance and change. Take advantage of today and prepare for the greatest meeting of your life.
Pr. Wilson de Lima Salustiano
Master in Pastoral Psychology
Guarulhos - SP