“The Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.'”
Genesis 2:15-17 NIV
Genesis in Hebrew is Bereshit and it means in the beginning. In the beginning of the world, God gave us the choice to choose the way He designed for us to live or to choose the path of sin and death. God gave us this choice, even though He knew that we would make the wrong choice. We know the ending, Adam and Eve chose the path of death and sin.
“As for you, you were dead in your trangressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world and of the ruler of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest we were deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:1-9 NIV
Apostle Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus to strengthen their faith and explain the nature and purpose of the church. Us. Paul is telling us that before we ever even found ourself in sin, Jesus came and gave us a way to be redeemed. We show up with our faith and God fills our life with His grace taking away the penalty of sin. He did it so that we can be an example of the richness of grace that now fills our life. Now our good works is to give others the tool to access God’s grace
This is the very definition of unconditional love. This is the love that God offers and the love that God wants to offer the world through us. God did not remove sin from the world, he created a system of us being able to be redeemed and restored back to Him. Then, He gave us the job of being an example of his grace for others. So, that we can give them the same grace and hook them into Jesus.
All of this is a choice that we have to choose.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Romans 8:29 NIV
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- to the glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
Ephesians 1:4-6 NIV
Romans was written by Apostle Paul to the Roman Church. Some believe that this message means God chose certain people to receive salvation. Another interpretation believes that God knew beforehand which of us would choose to believe and serve God. What is clear to me is that there are people that choose to believe in God, people who choose to follow other religions, and there are people that chose no religion, because God gives us the choice to choose.
“The thief comes to steal kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:10 NIV
John is one of the twelve disciples. He wrote the book of John to share and spread Jesus’ life and ministry. The choice between good and bad exists in the world. God allows it because we have to choose. Here’s the thing, even within our belief in Christianity, God allows the choice. There are Christians that believe in God and don’t go to church or pray. There are Christians who go to church on Sunday and there is nothing else that they do. There are Christians that pray and seek God fully in their lives. God lets us choose our level of belief and our level of living. It is all a choice. It’s all our own personal choice.
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’
He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
‘You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is your neighbor?’ In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’
The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’
Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.'”
Luke 10:25-37 NIV
The expert of the law is likely the Pharisees or Sadducees. These were two ruling bodies in the Jewish community. They were well versed in the law but had not let the law change their heart. They crucified Jesus. The priest and the Levite are from the Levi tribe. They are the religious people that take care of the temple and the people’s religious needs. The Jewish people hated and discriminated against the Samaritans, because the Samaritans were mixed race. They were Jewish and part other race from the time of their exile. Yet Jesus used him as an example of how we are supposed to “love our neighbor as ourself.”
There is a lot of division and hate disguised as Christianity. God designed a world, from the beginning of time, where we will have to choose to abstain from sin. Jesus did not give any of us the authority to make people choose our Christian principles. That is a choice, even for us. God does hope that we choose to give others- especially the people we hate and want to discriminate against- a chance to meet his unconditional love through us. So that He can redeem their lives and offer them salvation.
