THE THREE STAGES OF THE GOD-MAN RELATIONSHIP

STAGE ONE

God created humans in His own image, for a purpose—to reign over His creation: the fish, the birds, the livestock, and all the animals, and to multiply (see Genesis 1:26-27). He planted a garden, the Garden of Eden, and placed the couple there to take care of it, and to eat the fruit from the trees (with two exceptions) for food. God visited the couple in the garden in the evenings, and life was just swell.

One day, the serpent deceived Eve, convincing her to eat fruit from one of the forbidden trees. She convinced her husband, Adam, to eat of it as well. The next time God dropped by the garden to visit, the couple was nowhere to be found, because they were in hiding. Why? Because their disobedience led to a discovery—they were naked! Sin tarnished their relationship with God; in response, God drove them out of the garden.

STAGE TWO

Now being out of the garden, they had to fend for themselves: sin had come to stay! Sin passed on to their descendants: Cain killed Abel, his younger brother, out of jealousy. Now sin is everywhere. We sin without blinking; even little children do wrong and blame it on someone else. Sin is not a learned behavior; we’re born with it. We sin because we are sinners by nature. Such a tragedy! This stage is ongoing, and if we die without paying for our sin, our separation from God will become permanent: we will go to hell.

Thankfully, God did not give up on us. He became a man in the person of His Son Jesus, lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, and then died in our place. Henceforth, if we repent and place our faith in Him, our relationship with God is restored. Hallelujah! “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), except the name: JESUS! And here’s the assurance, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Also, “Now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Have you put your faith in Jesus, and if not, why not? What are you waiting for?

Say ‘yes’ to Jesus today, and start your new life in Christ Jesus. You’ll be amazed at the transformation you experience: “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthian 5:17). The Holy Spirit will help you understand the Word of God, and apply it to your life; you will love what God loves, and hate what He hates. You’ve been called to a totally new way of thinking and living. It’s awesome; you’ll see!

As a Christian, you get to fellowship with other believers, encouraging them and being encouraged. As you experience God’s love, peace, and joy, you’d want to share your experience with all who will listen. You’ll be like one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread. In fact, doing so is a command (see Matthew 28:18-20). You can now claim Jesus’ promise: “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:1-3).  

STAGE THREE

Now we are at stage three, the final stage of the God-man relationship. As the promise of John 14 says, Jesus will come back and escort us home to be with Him forever. We will never be separated again, just as we are told in the Scriptures: “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with him forever” (2 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Amazing. What a grand entry!

Are you ready? Don’t wait much longer; tomorrow might be too late. You should not miss this opportunity to get into an ongoing relationship with God, starting now, and going into eternity. Amen!

The quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT).
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