There are only two options when it comes to how we live our lives…
Many people say and believe that there are many ways “to” God. This seems to make sense in our human brains. We cannot think of a loving, caring, compassionate God who would leave anyone out. Yet, when reading the Holy Bible (either the Jewish Old Testament Scriptures and/or the Christian New Testament Scriptures) we find that there is only One God with One Way to life. In truth, we also see this in the modern world. Life or Death?
In the book of Genesis (meaning beginning) we peer into the garden where Adam and Eve reside. God had just created Eve to be a helper and companion for Adam, then he gave them just two instructions: “Be fruitful and multiply”…and “Do not eat from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”. They could do anything else, name animals, plant food, play in the jungle, create songs, instruments, tools, babies! Just one thing was forbidden: eating from that tree. (Genesis 2:16) The consequence of this one forbidden action would lead to death. Everything else was LIFE! And that life included loving relationships with God and each other with zero shame and…no death.
As time went on, we all know the story, Eve ate the apple, then Adam ate it, then he blamed Eve for his disobedience and God had the sorrowful deed of banishing them from the garden. He then killed animals (the first record of any death) to make clothes for the man and the woman. The whole creation changed that day. Death entered the scene and there became many new rules. Adam and Eve blamed each other, Cain killed Abel, people became only self-serving and began to worship everything else except God. Hmm- Sounds like today. The story unfolded- not surprising God because He had a plan- and we see that over and over people chose the way of death instead of the way of life.
In the book of Romans in the New Testament, the apostle Paul talks at length about how sin shows up everywhere and in all of us. He says that those who are self-seeking, who refuse to believe in God and follow after evil will suffer death. Those who seek “glory, honor and immortality” will receive eternal life. We see that what we seek will lead to an outcome: Death or Life. The plethora of behaviors that happen in between the “seeking and the outcome” are varied and make it seem like there are many paths, many ways to find life. Do good, don’t murder, help the poor, don’t slander your neighbor, honor, and respect others, don’t steal, don’t murder, etc. It seems that the consequence of the behavior itself is death or life, but this is not so. It is, at the core, what we seek. The really good news is that when we seek God- “Glory, honor and immortality”- we find a loving creator God who gives us life. He is not trying to trip us up with rules and regulations in order to punish us or “send us to hell” …NO God invites us into His Grace so that we can live fully now and into the eternal where there will be only life.
Another way to explain “seeking” would be “mindset”. What is your mind set on? Again, the Apostle Paul describes this principle of aiming toward life or turning toward the path leading to death. He says, “Those who live according to the sinful (self-seeking) nature have their minds set on what that nature desires. But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what that nature desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:5-6)
What are you seeking? Self-gratification or glory, honor, and immortality (giving God the glory and honor in your life). Have you placed your self at the head of your life, or have you yielded to the Loving God of the Universe who in truth wants you to live? He proved it so we don’t have to doubt. “God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. (Romans 5:8) Here is the good news, the story doesn’t end there…after His death, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and now lives making intercession for you and me-those who have turned away from the self-seeking and bowed to The Way of eternal Life. Only when we turn to God will our behaviors begin to reflect this way of living. But even if we slip up, we know that we can still count on God to cover us and care for us and lead us toward eternal life with Him. In each moment, in each breath, in each conversation and in every decision we can (by surrendering to the way of the Spirit) choose: Death or Life…and Peace. Now, that is Good News!