Our life on Earth is only a blink compared to eternity. Whatever happens to you in this world in this life, whatever circumstances you find yourself in, whether good or bad, these things has no effect on the eternal life that follows after "death" as we know it (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4), except your relationship with your eternal family (John 17:3).

In the beginning...

Our world used to be very good (Genesis 1:31).

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. -- Genesis 2:8-9 (ESV)

As long as the humans obeyed God, they would be protected and enjoy access to garden which included the "Tree of life" (Genesis 2:9,15-17)

Unfortunately a fallen angel who envied God (Isaiah 14:12-15), decided to take his revenge on God's creation. He knew how much God loved the humans, therefore he crafted his plan to tempt the humans to leave God's protection so that he could have his stab. So he approached the humans as a "serpent" (Revelation 12:9):

He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”

The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”

The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” -- Genesis 3:1-5 (Message)

The humans were suddenly no longer content with who they are and what they knew. So both man and woman fell for the temptation to violate God's rules (Genesis 3:6) and through their disobedience they introduced the first sin in our world.

Sadly, God had to remove the humans from His garden to prevent evil to live forever (Genesis 3:22-24) and by doing so, the humans were cursed with pain (Genesis 3:16), hard labour (Genesis 3:17-19), and a limited lifespan (Genesis 3:19).

This curse did not stop with them. It also affects, their children and all generations after them (Romans 5:12). The first child born on Earth was guilty of envy (Genesis 4:6), murder (Genesis 4:8) and lies (Genesis 4:9). Many year later the world was filled with so much sin the God had to reduce human's lifespan to 120 years (Genesis 6:3-5).

That is why our current world is in such a bad shape. Our ancestors ruined it for us, but we ourselves are also guilty (Romans 3:23) of selfish desires and like out ancestors we will continue to sin so that our children will also inherit our iniquities (Psalm 51:5).

Although the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), the Lord God said:

“I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies.” -- Ezekiel 18:32, 33:11

We read in the Torah (Old Testament) how that thw Israelites had a law that required animals sacrifices to pay for their own sins (Leviticus 16:11-16). But even the perfect rituals with the animals' death was not good enough to save us from sin.

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. -- Hebrews 10:1-4 (ESV)

Fortunately...

There is hope

Consequently, when Christ (the anointed king and saviour) came into the world, he said,

"Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure." -- Hebrews 10:5-6 (ESV)

This Christ was born as Jesus (also known as Yeshua). He is God's begotten son (Psalm 2:7), but his mother was a normal human (Matthew 1:18). Jesus was born like any other human baby, with the exception that he did not inherit the sinful iniquities like us, because his father was God Himself.

Unfortunately many people back then did not recognize Jesus as the Christ (John 4:25-26) because their expectation was the Jesus would be born as king and rule the world like a Monarch, but God chooses a carpenter to raise Jesus (Mark 6:3).

When Jesus grew up as an adult, he began to teach people about his Father. He taught us how much his Father loves us (1 John 4:16), and He wants to adopt us as His children (2 Corinthians 6:18, 1 John 3:1, John 1:12, Ephesians 1:3-12).

Think about is:

The King of the Universe (Hebrews 11:3) wants you to be your "Papa"! (Romans 8:15) That means that the Son of God will recognize you as his "brother" or "sister"! (Matthew 12:50, Romans 8:17)

Jesus is very compassionate about the people.

Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. -- Matthew 9:35 (ESV)

But Jesus' also came to be the ultimate sacrifice for the sin of all believers (John 3:16). In order to be a sacrifice, he had to be killed (Hebrews 2:14) like the animals in the Old Testament.

So Jesus humbled himself (Philippians 2:8) by allowing his enemies to spit in his face, struck him, slap him (Matthew 26:67), put thorns on his head, mocked him (Matthew 27:29-31), drove nail into him (John 20:25-27), struck him on the head (Matthew 27:30), stripped him (Matthew 27:31), and tortured him in the most unthinkable ways (Matthew 27:35) until he died for your sins!

But Jesus did not stay in the grave (Matthew 28:1). God resurrected Jesus (Acts 2:22-24) and made him Lord over the creation (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:9-10). This allowed our Lord Jesus to ascend into heaven to be with God (1 Peter 3:22) and to prepare a place for us so that we could stay with Him (John 14:2-3).

Jesus did not abandon us, instead his human body had to be taken away so that He could send His Spirit to guide (John 16:5-15; Nehemiah 9:20; Psalm 143:10; Isaiah 11:2), teach (1 Corinthians 2:10,13) and help (John 14:16,26; John 15:26; John 16:7; Romans 8:26) us. God raises His adopted children through the Spirit to live in that standard of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control (Galatians 5:16-25).

We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. -- Romans 8:23-24 (ESV)

Your Future

Whether you like it or not, one day your body will die. When your spirit comes face to face with the Lord, what will His reaction be?

• Will He welcome you into His kingdom? (Matthew 25:34)
• Or will He reject you (Matthew 7:23) and cast your soul to hell? (Matthew 10:28)

Both destinations are for all eternity.

Our Lord is currently preparing a new home for his brothers and sisters (Mark 3:34-35). His Father who loves us, is ready to adopt you as His child (Romans 8:15). Your spiritual brothers and sisters awaits you.

But to be part of this eternal family, you need to be saved from your sins.

Now, the important question remains:

Are YOU saved?

When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”

Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven;

and you will receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit. For God's promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away — all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Peter made his appeal to them and with many other words he urged them, saying, “Save yourselves from the punishment coming on this wicked people!” Many of them believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day. They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers.

-- Acts 2:37-42 (GNB)