There are only two kinds of people in the world – those who acknowledge and love God and those who refuse to do so.

The essence of sin is when we try to live independently from God. We try to create for ourselves a world without God. This is what the media does continually in its many movies and TV shows. The actors generally portray life without any reference to God at all. This is a fantasy with enormous consequences.

Ayn Rand said that we can ignore reality but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

John Chapter One makes an insightful comment about this condition of mankind in general that wants nothing to do with God.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:10–13 (NASB95)

Before Jesus was born to a virgin to fulfill an ancient prophecy, he existed as the eternal Logos, or Word of God, through whom everything that exists was created. He was and is the source of life, and everything that lives owes its existence and sustenance to him. But Adam and Eve made a fateful choice to turn their backs on their Creator which implanted in the human soul an antipathy toward God. Their descendants, which include us, are born into this world with a default condition called a hardened heart that produces spiritual blindness and deafness.

In spite of there being abundant evidence of the Creator all around us, we refuse to recognize or honor him. Instead we live with an inborn hostility toward God.

Why would God care about such rebellious inhabitants of the world that had been so beautiful in every way when he first created it? It is quite impossible to fathom the depths of love that motivated our Creator to send his only Son to come into this world as a human and give away his life to provide forgiveness for our sins and reconciliation to God.

When the Creator in human form arrived on the planet, only a very few recognized and honored him. The same is true today. Those who through revelation from God see him for who he is and surrender their hearts and lives to him will receive eternal life. Those who refuse him remain in a perilous condition of spiritual blindness and are hurtling toward an eternity without God, which is called hell. There will be no one in hell who did not choose to go there. Those who opt to live without God here on earth will be sentenced to do so forever. The big difference will be that before going there they will finally understand the truth. There is a God who made it possible for us to know and love him and to live forever in the joy of his presence. This understanding will no doubt make hell unbearable, a continual gnawing at the soul.

The choice is ours, an eternity of joy or one of painful regret.

Perhaps you are like I was. I did not know God, but I wanted to know him if he were really there. I asked this supposed God to come into my life and reveal himself to me, if he were real. Amazingly, he did just that. That happened over fifty years ago, and I have never regretted becoming a follower of Christ. There is nothing more important than knowing, loving, and serving God. Ask yourself to which group of people do I belong? If you are still among those who are trying to live without any reference to your Creator, isn’t it time to turn this ship around? Here is a sample prayer you can use right now.

Prayer

God, I have tried to live without you long enough. Forgive me for being a rebellious sinner. I come to you now, Jesus, and ask you to come into my life and reveal yourself to me. I want to know you. I want to be forgiven. I want to be in right relationship with Father God. I want the Holy Spirit to live inside me. I want to know what it is like to experience the joy of your presence and the kind of peace that passes understanding. I give you my life in return. I choose to live the rest of my days for you. Amen.

Here is a verse from the Bible with which you are no doubt familiar. Think about its significance for you now that you have asked Jesus into your life.

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NLT)