Rescue and Redemption
As we seek to accurately grasp God’s story of the ages, we must understand that Satan, the Evil One, hates God. He hates anything that reminds him of the glory of God. Unable to overthrow our great God, Satan has set his sights on those who bear the image of God. Satan came into the garden and whispered to Adam and Eve (and through them, to all of us), “You cannot trust God. He’s holding out on you; therefore, you must take matters into your own hands.” Satan sowed the seeds of mistrust in our hearts. He attempts to deceive us with the lie that trusting God is too risky. He has always tempted mankind to seize control, so that we are tempted to rewrite the original script and give ourselves better, more powerful parts in this story.
Remember, God has offered us this wonderful world as our home, and He has told us to enjoy it fully and freely. Yet, despite God’s extravagant generosity, man had to reach for the one forbidden thing. When we abandon God’s ways and plans, a titanic shift takes place. We sin and fall from innocence. It is easy to observe the world we live in and see that mankind has fallen from grace. Nearly all agree that something has gone wrong with the human race. Perhaps it is better said that something has gone wrong within the human race. Most of the suffering we see in this world is the fruit of the human heart gone bad. The treasure that should have been is stained, marred, and infected by the sin of mankind.
On the day that Adam and Eve fell away from God, they ran off and hid in the bushes. God came looking for them. He called to Adam, “Where are you?” Thus began the long and painful story of God’s pursuit of mankind. Though we betrayed Him and fell into the hands of the Evil One, God did not abandon us. A quick read of Scripture is enough to teach us that rescue has always been in God’s plan. We see it in the story of Noah, then with Abraham, and then with the people of Israel. We see God looking for a people who will turn to Him from the heart.
A dramatic example is seen in the Book of Exodus. God goes to war with the Egyptian taskmasters to set his captive people free. For hundreds of years, the Israelites languished in a life of slavery and despair. When the time was right, God sent Moses with a command to free the Israelites. When Pharaoh refused, we see blood, hail, locusts, darkness, and death. God unleashes plague after plague upon Pharaoh (and the Egyptians). It is like the blows of a divine, unrelenting ax. Ultimately, God frees His people. Upon their release, they cheer God and count their blessings. Well, they count their blessings for about a minute. After their liberation from Egypt, the Israelites began their whining and complaining. It seems they were not overly interested in following God and His plans. I say this to show that freeing the Israelites was more than God changing their location and conditions. Rescuing the human heart is the hardest mission in the world.
The dilemma we see around us is this: mankind often acts like they do not want to be rescued and returned to God’s amazing grace and care. We are so enamored with our small stories and our false gods, we are so bound up in our addictions and our self-centeredness, that we regularly refuse God’s help. Understand, this is part of the darkness that Satan (and sin) has planted in the human heart. We are miserable in our sinful, selfish ways, yet we cling to the very thing that damns our hearts and souls. Is there hope in this story? Is it possible that refugees from the Kingdom of Darkness can find help, healing, and salvation? That is the next part of the grand story that God is sharing with us. Join me next week. Keep looking up!