THE BIG PICTURE

January 2007 article by Simon Thompson

God created this earth with man upon it for a purpose and I believe that this was in order to have a relationship with His creation, in particular man. Adam and Eve were the first humans created in God’s own image and God gave them free run over His creation, with some simple and basic rules. However they chose to break those rules and were punished as a consequence.

Some years later when man had grown in population upon the earth, we are told that mankind was wicked and God felt he wanted to destroy man, all but Noah and his family who obeyed God, so they survived the flood. But their descendants would continue to disobey God as they populated the earth. God’s requirement was always obedience, but man once more chose disobedience.

God still wished for a relationship with His creation so he chose one man (Abraham) to be the father of a nation who would obey Him - He would be their God and they would be His people. While they did worship Him they also turned their backs on Him and God punished them. He sent them Judges and prophets to keep them on the straight and narrow, and even sent His own Son, hoping that they and the rest of the world would recognise Him and obey Him. But they killed Him and from this time on the emphasis has changed; no longer is God looking to man, but man must look to God.

God has left us His purpose for the future in his word the Bible, but it’s now up to you and me as individuals of God’s creation to find these things out. God has sought to have obedient children and has always been disappointed so no longer will God lead us by the hand and send Prophets and Judges - we have to respond to Him.

There will be this relationship with God upon this earth as He has promised and as He has desired from the very beginning for all those who respond to Him in the correct way. The challenge is to find out what that is. Read the word of God, find out what he has promised, become that obedient disciple of God.