Adam and Eve disobeyed God when they listened to Satan and ate fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God is a holy God, and He cannot stand sin. Disobedience is a sin in God’s sight, so He banned Adam and Eve from the garden. The Bible says, “Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned . . .” (Romans 5:12, NKJV). And again, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NKJV), and “The wages of sin is death . . .” (Romans 6:23, NKJV).
Did God care that we were all condemned to death due to our sinful nature?
Of course He did. He sent His only Son Jesus to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin.
But the story doesn’t end there. The third verse and the refrain of the hymn “Christ Arose” tells it well:
Verse 3 — Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior,
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain: Up from the grave He arose;
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes;
He arose the victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
– – Text & Music by Robert Lowry, 1826-1899
He lives forever, with His saints to reign!
And still the story does not end. Listen to what God said to John in the book of Revelation. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4, NKJV).
And Jesus said, in the gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 2, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (NKJV) Who are those for whom Jesus is preparing a place, everyone on earth? No, only for those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
The Bible makes it very clear. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12, NKJV) I hope you have received Jesus as your Savior and will be ready on the day He returns.
Lord Jesus, I am so excited to know that I will someday spend eternity with You, because You care.
Donna J. Howard