We
may all be familiar with the teaching which states; “Then God said, "Let
Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over
all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So
God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and
female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).
But
what many of us may be not cognizance of, is that there is a stumbling block
that stands in our way that hinders us from achieving our God ordained purpose in
life and in order to attain God’s ordained purpose we must under all
circumstances override and overcome this hurdle which is the power of choice.
From
the very inception of man’s existence we are told that; “The LORD God planted a
garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out
of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight
and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden and the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2: 8-9).
Then
the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep
it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the
garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die"
(Genesis
2:15-17).
So
from the very inception man was given the choice to partake freely of every
tree that was in the garden including the tree of life, but was commanded not
to partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. These two trees were symbolic,
the tree of life represented Jesus Christ the life Giver and the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil represented Satan the originator of death who originally knew
what is good but rebelled and became evil.
Satan
originally was created as the light bringer to the earth in fact; the word
Lucifer actually means “light bringer” as illustrated by the prophet Isaiah who
wrote; “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you
are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in
your heart: ' I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
(angels) of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the
farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I
will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:12-14).
Lucifer’s
downfall came as the result of his pride and iniquities as confirmed by the
prophet Ezekiel who wrote; “Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the seal of
perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden
of God; every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and
diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you
were created.”
"You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and
forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day
you were created, till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your
trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I
cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O
covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.”
"Your heart was lifted up because of your
beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to
the ground, I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you. You defiled
your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your
trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned
you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you: All who knew you
among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be
no more forever" (Ezekiel 28:12-19).
The
sad reality is, Satan’s quest is to be worshiped just as God is worshiped and therefore,
it is man’s responsibility to choose who he/she is addressing their worship to,
whether it is to God or to Satan because, there are only two masters as
attested to by Jesus Christ who said; “No servant can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew
6:24; Luke 16:13).
The
crux of the matter is, man is not an independent being, and he/she is for
example, either a worshiper of God or a worshiper of Satan, a citizen of the
kingdom of light or a citizen of the kingdom of darkness, a slave of righteousness
or a slave of sin, one whose faith is in the power of God or one whose faith is
in the wisdom of men. The call of duty to every human being is to be committed
to either one or the other; one cannot be committed to both therefore, it is
imperative that we be steadfast and knows definitely to whom we are enslaved
and be a profitable servant.
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With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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