Why Are We Here?
" The Son can do nothing on His own, but only what He sees the Father do.
For whatsoever the Father does, that the Son does also." - Jesus Christ
Jesus made a statement that, during my youth, I saw no practical application to, and placed little value on. He is quoted as saying,
"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other."
As I've grown older, I've seen that this spiritual truth is the foundation of why we are here living in this world of the flesh. The explanation goes something like this:
Speaking metaphorically; God took me aside and showed me the Garden of Eden. He pointed out the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He said to me, "Do you think that Adam and Eve would not have sinned had I not warned them of the evil of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? Do you think that they would not have eaten of it?"
"The trees are there," I responded. "They would have eaten of them."
"Then, would they have sinned?" God asked.
"Only you know," I responded, trying to evade the question.
Then the Father opened my eyes and showed me that the two trees, without a better way of saying it, were by today's definition magical trees. Had Adam and Eve partaken of the Tree of Life, they would have been transformed into eternal beings, living forever in their current state, whatever that was at the time they partook. And, had they partaken of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would have been transformed into what we are today, with or without a warning from God to not partake.
A more "today" explanation takes me back to my childhood. I could barely reach above the stove. Mom, seeing my curiosity, warned me that it was hot, that I was not to touch it or it would burn me. Being the young, obedient child that I was, the first thing I did when she looked away was to reach out and touch it. Yes, it burned me.
The same can be said of gravity. With or without a warning, if you walk off a cliff or roof, or fall out of a tree, gravity takes over.
So, we find ourselves back in the Garden of Eden. Before us are wonders and beauties that we can't imagine. God tells Adam he is free to eat of any tree in the garden except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. For if he does, he will die. This is where Jesus' statement, "you cannot serve two masters...", comes in to play. Let me explain.
Scripture tells us that Lucifer, who once walked in the midst of God, swept away one third of the angels of Heaven in his desire to supplant the Father to become ruler of all. This same Lucifer spoke to Eve through the serpent, telling her that if she partook of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, that she not only wouldn't die, but no, she would become like God Himself, having a full knowledge of good and evil. Eve succumbed to the temptation and partook, as did Adam, who was with her when she ate.
We, as people, are extremely naive. We believe that the sin committed by Adam and Eve was the behavioral act of partaking of the forbidden fruit. That had the Father not forbidden it, they could have eaten freely without consequence. This isn't the case. Adam and Eve's sin was not a specific act or behavioral bent. Their sin was that they gave more creditability to Lucifer and their own judgment that the fruit was pleasing to the eye than they did to the Father. They believed the serpent's assertion that the Father was being selfish and unreliable, that He was withholding the truth from them so that they could not become like Him. Their sin was that they gave creditability to anyone other than God the Father.
So God responded by fading into the background. After all, if we were going to view Him as untrustworthy and selfish, the Father chose to let us live a life relying on voices other than His. This would allow us to see first-hand what life is like without an all-powerful God by our side, who was not there to help us. For God has said, "When I called, they did not listen. So when they called, I would not listen."
He gave us new bodies that would function independent of God. A body with a biological computer for a brain - a brain that only knows that it needs, not having a clue as to what it needs. So it craves endlessly. And a body that endlessly feeds information to our brain, "I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I hurt here, I don't feel good..." A self-centered body that endlessly feeds information to our brain that it needs and that it needs now. Our brain continuously feeds information to our spirit, which resides within this body of the flesh, information on how we are to live, respond, think, what we are to believe and how we are to act. This begins as soon as our newly-formed brain begins to function. From the womb our body is demanding of the brain, and our brain demands of our spirit that we comply. From our earliest youth, our spirit is being molded into the image of the flesh that we reside in, with our body/brain acting as a teem to control and manipulate our eternal spirit into obedience. This is why Jesus Christ came to us as a child, born in a manger, on that blessed day. For Him to truly be our Savior, it was necessary for Him to be born in a body of the flesh just as we are. And it was necessary for Him to never succumb to the never-ending demands of His human body made of flesh to be obedient and do as the body/brain combination dictated to Him.
He also gave us an endless supply of "voices" that demand our loyalty and obedience. Voices who view life through the corrupt filter of their own human brain, never coming to a right knowledge of the truth. These voices take on the form of government officials, supervisors, family members, medical professionals, an endless supply of people who claim to be credible and reliable and on whom they demand that we trust. But they can't be trusted. For God has said, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding. You will be ever seeing but never perceiving. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and heal themselves." God will not allow healing apart from His healing hand.
"You cannot serve two masters..."
The sole purpose for our life in the flesh is so that, after we become so bruised, bloodied, and abused by any voice that is not the Father's or His Son's, Jesus Christ, that if and when temptation comes in the next life, we will be hardened and untrusting against any voice that is not that of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, or that of the Father's.
"...for either you will hate the one, and love the other; or else you will hold to the one, and despise the other."
Sin is not a behavioral issue. It is not measured by a specific act; the way we dress, of how "perfect" our behavior is. Sin is a loyalty issue. Whose voice do you long to hear? Who do you seek to please? Who do you give creditability to? If you trust or rely on any voice other than God's, then you haven't yet learned the lesson that sin is following and believing in anyone, including yourself, other than God. Holiness and Righteousness are for those who listen to and follow only God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
”Then Abraham believed the LORD, and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Blessings,
Glen