| (Copyright 2022) by James McBride (United Kingdom) |
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| Over the past six millennia God has selected men and women to become part of His eternal spirit Family. Many, indeed, have been invited (there’s no coercion) but few have responded—or they have not finished the course. Some are well-known: Enoch, Noah, Abraham, David, Paul—a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ (Hebrews 12:1), all faithful. Some lived long productive lives, some were cut short—many martyred. All were in some degree flawed, but lived in faith, trusting in God whatever life threw at them. A plan, a grand design, was conceived in the heavenly realm to create a being in God’s own image, a rational being endowed with the power of choice: to learn compliance with the laws of life—or a rebel who would choose the path of self-determination and its terrible consequence, death. The Creator crafted a clay image of Himself [from earth’s elements] and breathed into it ‘…the breath of life’, purposed to qualify to become part of His spirit Family. We know their initial choice—self-determination and death’. Instructed the Creator: ‘…of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’ (Genesis 3:3). Wrong choice! They thus shattered their intimate relationship with the Almighty God and were cast into the wilderness. Access to God would be only through an intermediary. Life became onerous. God prescribed animal sacrifice as an atonement for sin, pending the ultimate sacrifice—the death of the Son of God, Jesus—through whom alone can man be part of the earthly and heavenly family: ‘…. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12). The faithful from all eras, those living and those now dead, bond in a family relationship, later to become the ‘church’, the ‘Israel of God’. It is a body distinct from the visible church which includes seekers and wreckers—to be separated at the return of Jesus when the ‘saints’ are transformed or resurrected. They ‘follow the lamb: ‘…These are the ones who were not defiled with women [false churches and destructive teachings], for they are virgins [undefiled by false teachings]. These are the ones following the Lamb wherever He may go. These were redeemed from among men as a firstfruit to God and to the Lamb’ (Revelation 14:4). The invitation remains open—for now. ———————————————————————————————————- See James McBride’s other articles at: McBride, James – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) Reprinted with permission from: The Churches of God Outreach Ministries http://www.cgom.org/ ———————————————————————————————————- |
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