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The gospel of Jesus, grace to you, is the simple
solution to the profound questions and challenges of life. With the coming
of Jesus, the manifestation of the grace of God, you receive God's
grace which brings ". . . all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
(Col. 2:3).
However, long ago a warning was given to mankind. He was not to eat of the tree
of the knowledge (a knowing from observation) of good and evil. If he
partook of the forbidden fruit, it would bring a curse upon him. The
grace of God would be frustrated (Gal. 2:21) and paradise would be lost.
Man would now live the days of his life
seeing his dreams, his aspirations, his life always failing to achieve
its ultimate perfection. He would become trapped in ever
learning, trapped in trying to obtain knowledge by his doing, and yet
never able to come to ultimate truth which only comes by the grace of
God. Without the inner light of
revelation, the problems of life
would now overwhelm him.
The search for knowledge, the search to
experience life, would become innate to the human experience, the human
sensations of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling. Instead
of living in the spiritual manifestation of God in his life, he now
finds life to be dominated by the fleshly, the earthly. Life
becomes problematic because the search for knowledge, the search to find
answers for the challenges of life, is controlled by the sensing
network.
Correspondingly, because man desired
knowledge from his own observation, he is now also driven to know what
knowledge is good and what knowledge is evil. He learns at a very early
age that certain behavior brings satisfaction while other actions
produce despair. He ponders how he can maximize his joy while minimizing
his pain. The issue of good and evil, the issue of conduct, also now
becomes an integral part of his existence.
Finally, it is soon understood that some
form of control is now necessary. If the possibility exists that
different behavioral patterns produce different consequences (good or
evil), the management of life then becomes an essential ingredients to
conquer the problems of life. Whatever is interpreted to be the good
life, man learns early that there are certain requirements that must be
met to obtain it. In the essence of what it means to be a human being,
some sort of control is also a prerequisite of man’s existence.
Wherever human beings are found, the
problems of life--the problem of knowing, the problem of conduct, and
the problem of governance--are also found. At the risk of being labeled
to simplistic, it can be said that all the fundamental questions of life
can be reduced to these three issues. How does man learn (revelation or
perception)? What is to be his conduct (good or evil)? Where, when, or
who directs the living of life (grace or frustrated grace)? Knowledge,
behavior, and control are the essential elements of all life.
How does he which does not know come to
know? How does one who often misbehaves change his conduct to right
behavior? How does he who often finds himself out of control experience
control?
Just as objects under water never appear
as their true size or true location to the human eye, the true issues of
life never appear to natural man as they are. They are hid to the eyes
of the sensual man (Luke 19:21). Much like the threading of the finest
of needles, the real issues of life cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Jesus said to his closest followers,
"For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see
those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those
things which ye hear, and have not heard them" (Luke 10:24). He
also said that many have eyes to see but they cannot perceive and many
have ear to hear but they cannot understand (Mark 4:12). Finally, Jesus
said, ". . . O Father, Lord of heaven and earth . . . thou hast hid
these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto
babes . . ." (Luke 10:20).
The gospel of Jesus brings the problem of
knowledge, the problem of conduct, and the problem of governance into
focus with a simple, yet, dramatic and revealing statement. He answers
the three basic drives of man (to learn, to behave, and to be under
control) with "I am." In a fundamental
tenet of true Christianity, He declared, "I am the way, and the
truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
God sends His grace to you for the problems of your lives. When your heart turns to Jesus, Jesus and Jesus alone,
you will find solutions for your desire to know, to behave, and to be under control. God's
grace to you is the gospel of Jesus.
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