People Need God
In the Beginning…. According to the Bible, God created the earth and everything in it. He made Man (Adam) as the final crowning work in the Garden of Eden. God loved Adam and saw that "it was not good" for Man to be alone, so he hand-crafted woman (Eve) from one of Adam’s ribs. Adam had perfect communion with God each day. Both were to live in the Garden and could do as they pleased, as long as they abided by God’s one command: "Do not eat of fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, as you will surely die." Satan, in the form of a serpent, suggested to Eve that she wouldn’t actually die if she ate it. The fruit seemed like good food, was pleasing to the eye and offered knowledge, so Eve ate the fruit and then gave some to Adam. Since they disobeyed God’s command, sin was born in man. God cast them both out of the Garden because they had sinned, but also to prevent them from eating of the other important tree in the Garden, the Tree of Life (Eternal).
But, that’s not fair, they simply made a mistake…
If God is perfect and just, how he could he simply overlook Man’s transgression of His simple command. The penalty God had pre-assigned was death, since corruption and perfection cannot coexist. Consequently, when sin occurred, God had to abide by the system He created.
Spiritual Death - Eternal Separation from God
The Death God was referring to was a Spiritual death. The penalty for Man’s sin was and is Spiritual death, which means to be separated from God spiritually. Thanks to Adam and Eve, every human inherits the sin nature and is separated from God. There issomething else that happened in Man as a result of the fall: each of us has a huge hole in our heart created by the absence of that perfect communion/fellowship with God. Imagine being able to talk and walk with the creator of the universe, having the privilege of working the Garden He created - would you worry about anything? Adam and Eve in their rebellion ripped that communion from all of us.
Endless Pursuit of Happiness
People now try to fill that hole in their hearts with every conceivable thing or pursuit. Examples include Sex, Career, Money, Popularity, Philosophy, Power, Knowledge, Evil, Family, Exercise, Good Works, Materialism, etc………. Guess what? None of those will bring lasting peace and happiness. Why? Because only God can fill a hole left by God!
God Provided a Way Back!
Because God loves you so much, He opened a way back to Him. Just as the whole human race was doomed to sin through the actions of one man, Adam, God provided a way back to Himself through one man, who would pay sin’s death penalty for all mankind! This man lived a sinless life on the earth, suffered torture then death and was resurrected from death. Who could do such an incredible feat? It had to be God, and it was God. In fact, it was God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, who performed this feat. You’ve probably heard or seen the John 3:16 signs at sporting events. All fanaticism aside, this verse says it all:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him would not perish but have everlasting life."
Replace your holed heart with a whole heart
By believing in the incredible story above, we accept Jesus Christ’s death as the payment for our sin. He is the only way back to the Garden of Eden – He, is the Tree of Life. Now, with your sin penalty paid, you can replace your hole in the heart with aWhole Heart. A "Whole Heart" enjoys all the fruits of God’s goodness and blessing. God promises these wonderful things as by-products of our reunion with Him:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-25
From www.porn-free.org
