Earth is Our Proving Ground
We came from God and at the end of this earth journey, God’s
plan is that we would go back to Him. I say His plan because He has given us
the choice to choose or to reject Him. How do we do that? By accepting Christ as our Savior and walking with Him. Why? Because of the
fall into sin in the Garden of Eden, a fall away from God, the only way to
reconcile back into relationship with Him is through Jesus Christ. Apart from
that there is no other way back. The only other alternative then is eternal
separation from God in a place called hell.
Earth is our proving ground, meaning only our time here on
earth will determine where we spend eternity. Once, our time here ends there is
no more opportunity to choose – and not choosing is choosing. It is actually rejecting,
Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), and in effect, choosing to perish and
spend eternity away from God.
Think about it! If Jesus did it all and we had no need to respond, everyone who ever lived would be in heaven and there would be no need for the Word that broad is the road that leads to destruction and many there are who take it, but narrow is the road that leads to life, but few there are who FIND the narrow and difficult road. [Paraphrased]. Here's the text:
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 [a]Because narrow is the gate and [b]difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Jeremiah 29:12-14
12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.
If anyone tells you that your actions, words, and thoughts don’t matter and that Jesus did everything when He died, they are either ignorant of God’s Word or they’re trying to deceive you into some level of feel-good Christianity from the pit.
The Bible is full of proof from Genesis to Revelation of the
very opposite. In Genesis, we see our fore parents, Adam and Eve, who
introducing sin into the world by going against God’s instructions. That’s why
we, as their descendants, are in the mess we are in today.
In the book of Revelation, we see the rise of anti-Christ and the decisions that all those alive at the time will have to make, take a mark and belonging to Satan or become and remain true to Christ and possibly lose your life. But even before that, we see the seven churches, also representative of modern-day Christianity, showing from the time of the writing mankind has not changed. In the letters, we see that only two of the seven churches remained faithful to God while the others did some good. Yet, the Lord had a charge against them that if they did not follow His instructions to rectify their major wrongs, there would be grave consequences. Still, He rewarded those who would hold on to the end, calling then overcomers. (Revelation 2 & 3).
Those are only a few examples for the sake of time. The 10
commandments plus the one to love our neighbors as ourselves are also
instructions for us. We know that all of the requirements for fellowship with
God are fulfilled in Christ and we who are His do the same as we walk in the
Spirit. God is after our maturity and becoming as the Lord Jesus Christ was when He walked the earth. Jesus was the ultimate in obedience to God. He was our model and still is today!
So, what we do, say, and think (yes, think) determines
whether we choose an eternal reward in heaven with God or eternal damnation in
hell with Satan, his demons, and all those who rejected Christ. In other words,
we get to choose eternal life of eternal death.
Friend, study the Word of God because if you don’t know your Word, you are a prime target for the enemy and those he uses to deceive people. Everything that sounds good isn’t necessarily good. Just like all that glitters is not gold. There are many charismatic deceivers out there. Don’t fall victim to them.
Study the Word. Know the Word. We are each accountable to
Know God for ourselves and we cannot know Him without knowing His Word. He’s inviting you to a deeper more intimate walk with
Him.
I have 3 encouraging Scriptures for you:
John 3:16
For God SO LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever (that means anybody) believes in Him will not perish but
have everlasting life.
That tells me that because of the fall into sin in the
Garden of Eden everyone born afterwards is perishing and will perish, unless, they choose to
identify with the Son of God and His death on the Cross and accept His sacrifice as if they died because of their sin. His death instead of ours. Jesus paid our sin debt which is death. The ultimate sacrifice One for all and once for all.
James 4:8
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
We do the drawing first, then God draws close. Yet, I believe He works in us by His Holy Spirit to woo us. His love is unmistakably magnetic, yet many still reject Him.
Jeremiah 29:12-14
12 Then you will call
upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you
will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all
your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says
the Lord, and I will bring
you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and
from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place
from which I cause you to be carried away captive.
Read that very slowly and meditate on it for a good 10 minutes. If this doesn't blow you away, nothing will! The God of the universe waits for us to seek Him and promises us not only freedom but really what He is promising is Himself! And there is no greater Gift!
Yes, earth is our proving ground! We get to respond to the love God poured out on us when He sent Jesus to die a sinner's death on an accursed Cross on Golgotha in our stead!
Hallelujah!
Many blessings as you meditate and focus on Him today!
