By John Larkins
Revelations 1:8 says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
These words mean that God identifies Himself as the “beginning and the end” of our existence. This week we’ll focus on and reemphasize the unique role God plays in our total existence.
First, God created each one of us, individually and uniquely, and without Him we could not have been born. It was for His purpose that we exist. God’s purpose was and is that He loves us and wants us as companions. Although it may seem to reduce our status, it is like we are God’s pets. Certainly, we are His eternal friends.
Among God’s many concerns for us is that we personally want or desire to be His friends. God’s experience with our first parents, Adam and Eve, established that we may not all want to be with Him. To establish that we preferred to spend eternity with God in his Home (Heaven), He puts all of us to the test for the unspecified length of time during which we live on Earth. The outcome of this earthly test determines whether or not we are eternally with God or the Devil (Satan) in Hell. These are the only two choices we have, and both destinations are for eternity. God is absolutely in charge of this operation, of which He sets the limits and conditions.
We have no choice about being evaluated by God, but we do possess complete control over the outcome of our birth. We do not have the authority to end our life. God has specific conditions for living in Heaven, and we have been given rules for living so that we can prove whether or not we’d like to live with Him.
It is true that God publicized the basic rules for eternal life with him in the Ten Commandments he gave to Moses for the training the Israelites in their religion, and those rules are the same for all souls, both then and now. I use the word “soul” because that is the special attribute God gave us to become human. There is some conjecture about just how He made our bodies. God’s inspired word is that he took his “dirt” and made Adam, the first person and first man. Scientists work from the existing physical evidence to understand God’s divine accomplishments and observe the possibility God may have created us with bodies like certain other living and ex-tinct organisms.
The essential feature of humans is our souls, which are apparent only among the living humans. But scientists speculate that if ancient humanoids used social practices such as ritual burials or artistic practices such as cave wall drawings, this may indicate behavior not readily seen as simply that of animals. Current evidence about these matters goes back about 300,000 years. God has expressed definite and robust conditions for forgiveness of our sins (i.e., the failure to obey God) but only if we are contrite and ask Him for forgiveness. In this way, God could be assured that He did not bring anyone into Heaven who did not want to be there.
I had earlier written about the fact that too many Americans, including some in our local area, follow a lifestyle that is contrary to God’s teachings and that if God took them into Heaven, they would be unhappy and want to go to Hell. I was shocked to read a local religious writer who bemoaned the insult that anyone would say to a loved one of a recently deceased person that their loved one was in a better place when, in fact, this is a better place!
So, God’s way of testing is very humane and considerate. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Clearly, some of us are so arrogant and full of ourselves that we prefer worshipping other gods (i.e., the Democrat communist movement so prevalent in homes and schools today). We glory in saying such drivel as “It is my body, and I will do with it what I wish” and denying God’s clear demand that we as male and females use sex to procreate our species, and only for that purpose. Jesus warned us that many would not find The Way to Heaven. Still, our wishes will be honored!
If there is any way I can be of service, please email me at johnlarkins@bellsouth.net.