Lets start in the beginning:
In the Beginning
God created the world and created Man and Woman to be God’s coworkers giving care to the wonderful work. (Genesis 1:27, 28) This is the first book of the Bible.
Adam and Eve were given freedom to reign with God and to eat of any tree with the exception of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Gen 2:17) The crafty serpent enticed Adam and Eve to eat the apple with this promise, “God knows when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:5) Adam and Eve reached out to take control of their lives in an attempt to be “like” God.
At that moment Adam and Eve’s eyes were indeed opened to the ways of the world Good and Evil and there lives would never be the same. Their punishment – to live in that world with their new found knowledge. And the desire to control and be in charge never left them or their children.
Co-Workers – Our Calling
If God has a weakness – it may simply be God’s desire to save these children despite their propensity to fight God every step of the way.
Genesis 12 shows us God’s first attempt to invite the humanity back into right relationship with God and creation. God called upon a righteous man named Abram and invited him into a relationship. This is the first covenant – an agreement of relationship, a wedding is a covenant making ceremony. God would bless Abram and Abram would be a blessing to the world. Abram would be invited into the original work of Adam and Eve – tending the creation with God.
With many ups and downs the Old Testament – the first 2/3rds of the Bible – chronicles the journey of Abram – renamed Abraham – and his family. At times these people, the Hebrews, followed God well and at other times missed the mark greatly.
Where does Jesus come into all this?
Having already blown up the world to start over, think of Noah and the flood, God decided to take a new direction. God would send someone special to show the world how to be a blessing and deal with their humanity’s continued attempts to control and “be like God.” The Bible would call those attempts “sin.”
A word on sin. Sin is the propensity to disobey God’s commands. God’s commands contrary to what some believe are for our own good. They order life in relationship. Disobedience to God leads to death. This may seem incredibly harsh, but we can not comprehend the greatness of God. God is perfect. When we sin against God the punishment is separation from God – death. Want to know more about this or anything else for that matter – e-mail me. Some of the concepts here are very challenging, I am already too long winded, but feel there is much that is misunderstood. Hunter@zionmennonite.org
Back to Jesus. God sent Jesus – his son. Jesus lived a blessed life, teaching, healing and reaching out to the marginalized of society. Ultimately he displays a life of blessing by giving himself on the cross to save the world. The only way to destroy sin – the creator of death, is to have one die for the sins of all others. That is what Christ did.
So Christ takes our sin upon himself so that we do not have to bear that burden. By choosing to follow Jesus, to believe in his great sacrifice, we are washed clean and given the opportunity to enter into relationship with God. We are adopted as children to God. This does not mean that life will instantaneously become easy – indeed it may become harder, but we are no longer alone in the journey.
Not only are we not alone, but we are also called to work at living as his Co-workers in making this world a better place. Jesus invites us to participate in His work – that is the part that can be difficult. Loving one another is the second greatest command and not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination. Jesus invites us to be builders of God’s kingdom. Building the world in the way that God would have it be.
What should I do if I am interested in following Jesus?
There are many ways to enter this journey on your own and with community. Let us begin with a prayer.
Jesus, I want to follow you. I long for your presence in my life. Teach me how to love you and to be your child. Amen
Read the Bible – you may want to start with the Chapter labeled John. This is the story of the life of Jesus written by one of his disciples. Don’t worry about what you don’t know of what you do know, just read it. And Pray – Lord open my eyes to your scriptures, let me begin to know you. Amen
Find a friend or mentor – Community is so important to our journey in life. Call Zion or e-mail me and we can work at finding someone to help you or maybe myself or another staff member can answer your questions and lead you nearer to Christ.
Jesus promises to be with us in this life – Matt 28 – our life may or may not change overnight. But Jesus is with us. And that is the most important gift we can have.