Sooner or later we all get around to asking ourselves: Why am I here? Why did God create me? Do I have a purpose or a mission to fulfill? If so, what is it and how can I bring it about?

Thankfully, God didn’t leave us in the dark regarding these important life changing matters. He tells us how we got here, what mission in life He has for us to fulfill and how we can achieve it.

The scripture in Revelation chapter 4 and verse 11 tells us: &uot;…for thou hast created all things, and for thy PLEASURE they are and were created.&uot; God had His own pleasure in mind when He created the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field. Therefore God also had his own pleasure in mind when he created you and me. Just as we draw pleasure from the things we make, from the flowers we grow and the children we raise, God draws pleasure from the things He creates.

Now when God created man, He made him not only with a soul, but He made him an intellectual physical creature with eyes, ears, nose, muscles and nerves. He created him with a brain with its millions of connections that would enable him to think, reason, weigh, consider and compare. He would be a free creature and that would mean that man would be able to make his own decisions in life and chart his own course. He would be free to do good or evil. He would be free to obey or to disobey. He would be free to submit to God’s authority and rule or reject it. He would be free to give God the love and devotion of his heart or withhold it.

Now we all know that freedom is a very risky thing. Too, it is very costly. A person may choose to misuse it and spoil the mission that God had in mind when He created him. You see, God wanted a create who would love him on a voluntarily basis, because he chooses to do so and not because he is forced to do so or has no other choice. God could have created mechanical robots who would serve Him mechanically, but He wasn’t interested in doing so, He wanted creatures who would love Him my choice because they knew He was worthy.

After God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in a garden that He had prepared for their enjoyment. For a time everything was right with the world. God would visit them in the cool of the day. Sweet fellowship flowed between the creature and his creator. They were free to partake of all the trees but one. The tree &uot;of the knowledge of good and evil&uot; was off-limits. They were not to partake of it under any condition. This wasn’t a suggestion, this was a command. The penalty for disobeying would be death, for God said. &uot;In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.&uot; I see there was nothing unclear about that command that God had given or the consequences that disobedience would bring. I’m afraid today, that many of God’s creatures does not understand that command or the consequences or there would be a better response to God’s love. The tree in the midst of the garden is where the issue of God’s rule was going to be decided, whether to submit to God’s authority or choose to be completely independent of God and do what self wanted to do. It was a matter of whose will was going to be supreme, man’s or God’s.

Now when Adam and Eve sinned, no one had to tell God what decision they had reached. When they put forth their hands and partook of the forbidden fruit, God knew what decision they had reached. In that moment of disobedience, they made it clear that no one was going to tell them what they could do and what they could not do, not even God Himself. They and they alone would decide what fruit they would and would not eat. The freedom which God had given to them allowed them to do this, and they were exercising it.

Taking the time to analyze what Adam and Eve did in the garden will help one to understand why so many are also rejecting God’s rule today. Satan had convinced them that they had more to gain than lose, that they could experience greater happiness in life by doing their own thing than by serving their creator. It was a monstrous lie, but they bought it hook line and sinker. The conclusion that they had reached was: &uot;Why should we devote ourselves to bring about God’s pleasure when we can devote ourselves to bring about our own pleasure?&uot;

The love and devotion of our hearts is what God had in mind when He created us from the dust of the ground. It makes no difference whether we’re educated or undereducated, black or white, rich or poor, young or old, business executive or hired hand, God wants the love and devotion of our hearts.

God didn’t send Christ into the world simply to bring us to forgiveness of sin. He sent Him to win back our lost allegiance, to recover the lost devotion of our hearts. We will never be able to fulfill our mission until we give our hearts to Christ, until we dedicate ourselves to living a life that is pleasing in His sight. The quality of life we have in the present and the kind of life we are going to have in eternity depends on what we do with Christ. – Won’t you give it some thought today.

Rev. Denton serves as pastor of Faison Assembly of God near Conway.