By Pastor Peter Aguila
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There is one question in the Bible, in the book of Mark, that says, “What is the first chief commandment?” And the answer is to love God with all of your heart. If this is so, there is only one reason why. God is love. And because of that, we ought to love
Why does God love His people? Even in the book of Hebrews, the great big question is, “What is man that He is mindful of him?” The one reason is because he made us.
God created man for this divine purpose. If you are asking why you are alive at this time and why you are here, we have to understand that God who is the great creator created man so that we can have fellowship with Him in his Kingdom. No wonder He said, if you are going to pray, “pray to the Father.” And you are blessed if you accept the truth, repent for your sins, and given the privilege to be called a child of God.
God helps us understand what was going on in the mind of the prodigal son in Luke 14. I think a lot of people are experiencing the same thing. Rebellion. In Zephaniah 3:1, it says, “What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime! No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the Lord or draw near to its God.“ One person who does not realize that he is in rebellion does not want to accept any correction and does not listen to anybody. Pride is the root of rebellion. And this is also why Lucifer fell. “I can do it. I will do it. I can. I will no one can stop me. This is what I want. This is my own way!” Thank God we know that we walk in God’s way. He is the way! There is no other way to heaven than through Him
What happened to man when he fell away? Where did man go? Where is he today? What is he doing so he can go back? He was led astray, away from his journey. He is choosing the wrong things! This problem of humanity resulted in sin which is the cause of poverty, crisis and sickness. The sad truth is God was really hurt when He saw that His creation fell away. I want you to understand how important God made us. God created all things by a mere word. But when it came to man, God breathed on us. Ephesians 4:24 says, “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” Man was created a little lower than the angels. But when man entertained the sin of pride, man became a beast, a monster, capable of doing terrible sins.
But thanks be to God and His love. He gave us a gift, the answer to rebellion and pride, and this is His Son, Jesus Christ. Just like Bartimaeus who was blind, he saw. Just like Magdalene who used to say I am a sinner, but because of Jesus, I am forgiven. Just like Lazarus who was dead, he lived again. Thank God we have this name, that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How many of you are sure that you can come home when you realize that you made a mistake? The wonderful thing about the prodigal son is that when he realized this, he came back. The problem was not his father or his home, but himself. Not all children are worthy. But if you know that you have a home in heaven, are you going to think twice about going home? You do not even have to knock. God will open the door for you.