Pastor's Desk
October 30, 2005
I AM CONVINCED that what every person longs for is a connection with the life of God. I am not just referring to the animating principle (breath of life) that keeps our bodies alive. I am speaking about the life that sustains us spiritually and invests us with an eternal purpose and destiny. This life is spoken of throughout the scriptures in various contexts. The first reference is the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden of Eden. The first humans lost access to the Tree of Life and ongoing fellowship with God when they chose instead to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They also lost their innocence and so began the march of the human race toward corruption and death.
But God in his mercy did not leave it at that—he made a way by which we can once again have access to the Tree of Life and to himself, namely through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) He also said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24) When we believe in Jesus we are connected to the life of God. We are also encouraged to remain connected. Jesus describes this ongoing connection using the picture of a vine and branches. When we, the branches, remain attached to Jesus, the vine, we tap into the life of God and bear fruit. In this way we fulfil our destinies and glorify God.
We need to be warned, however, that the same serpent, who misled the first human beings in the Garden, continues to deceive people and subvert God’s purposes in their lives. He wants to rob us of eternal life and of the opportunity to fulfil our destinies. He does this by presenting us with distractions which may taste good for the present but in the end have the sting of death. The apostle Paul had this concern for the Christians of his day: “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) Let us continue to pursue the life of God by diligently and closely following Jesus.
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The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.
(John 10:10)
This page was last updated on Friday, October 28, 2005