Monday, January 7, 2008 - We Weren’t Supposed to Die!
Yes, that’s right! We weren’t supposed to die. Death was never in the plan! It was never supposed to exist. We were supposed to live forever with God! Yes, with God. But what exactly does this all mean?
Like Maria says, let’s start from the very beginning…
Do you remember Genesis in the Bible? Remember the creation story? Do you remember that there are actually two creation stories? The first one involves God “revealing” himself and creating, well you know, everything. Most people forget that Genesis is all about God’s “revelation” to us. Creation is ongoing. Tomorrow is part of the creation story.
Now the second story of creation is incredibly important! It is the fundamental basis of the Christian faith, as well as the Jewish and the Islamic faith. It is the Adam and Eve story, when God created man. Remember that he created man out of the “clay from the ground”. He then created the rule between Him and man. Well as you know, we broke God’s rule!
Our faith is based upon this “relationship”, between God and man.
When you really think about it, in order to have a real relationship, family, friends, spouses, teammates, workmates, there has to be rules. Or else there is really no “relationship” whatsoever. Let's go back to the story.
As man, Adam and Eve broke the rule. It was a very simple rule, not to eat from a certain tree. This episode is what’s called in the Bible as “The Fall of Man”. We fell big time! It made God very upset. He said: “By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; for you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.
From the very beginning, until this “original sin” occurred, God meant for us to stay with him and be an equal with him. It was supposed to be a true relationship, without any rules broken. So we were then “expelled” away from him, away from the Garden of Eden.
It is important to keep this story with you, always. This is, again, the fundamental basis of the Christian faith. Revelation and Religion. Revelation is God revealing himself to us, and wanting to be with us. Religion, which means, “to bind together” in Greek, is everything we do to go back to God. This is our religious history. It is also called our “Salvation History”. It is man trying to be “saved” from Death and Sin. In this second story of creation, the concept of death is introduced for the very first time. The word sin, Latin for “without”, means that we are simply living “without God”.
So everything we do in our lives has to do with this basis of “relationship”. Every little thing you do in your life, if it’s good and will help another person, you do “with God”. If you do something that hurts a relationship, then you do it “without God”. This is the real concept of sin. It always has to do with God, and what you do to help or hurt another person. (It is actually a sin to be lazy because you are hurting another person by doing nothing, by not contributing to others, you are hurting them! It’s kind of like the “Good Samaritan” law. Actually, the “Good Samaritan” law came after!) Even if you don’t follow the bureaucratic rules of your religion, you are “with God” if you “love one another”, and do not commit sin. I’ve heard many priests suggest this! The word disaster, (dis-aster) meaning to “be removed from the heavens”, is a very revealing word. Most people who commit sin, and live “without God” have disastrous lives. Removed from the heavens! What a word!
So whether we know our faith or not, whether we know a lot, or a little, we all make our choices. Knowing and not knowing are both personal choices. We make our beds, and lie in it. I was lucky enough to learn a little about my Christian faith. When you talk to most people about religion, and share what you know, they think you are preaching to them. I have always looked as sharing any knowledge as simply that, a “sharing of knowledge.” I hope this article enlightens more than anything else. I only really talk passionately about religion when it comes to this story. (Actually that’s not true!)
I think that if you grasp this part of the Bible, you will see the bigger picture. Everything that happens after Genesis is really just “us trying to go back to God, and God trying to get us back”. Yes, the “bible in a nutshell”. Love, love lost, trying to find love again. Build, destroy, rebuild. Rise, fall, redemption. The Cross, Death, then the Resurrection. Every character in the Bible, including all the prophets, saints, even Jesus and Mohamed, everyone…is part of this Salvation History. It is a “universally inclusive” concept. What a concept!
I’ve always loved this fundamental explanation of the Bible. What an a-ha moment! We all have a “Salvation History.” I used to think my history only went back to my personal history, about my own personal past. Then I learned I was under a huge family tree. (I am learning more and more about my amazing grandmother!) Then I learned about my national history, being of Filipino descent. I found out why I look so Hispanic. Then there’s the history of the Malay people. I hadn’t realized that I had many things in common with the Indonesians, the Malaysians, the people from Singapore, and the rest of the people of that region. Then after immigrating to America, now I have an American history to own! Now I learn about the Bible, and now I learn I am a part of this Salvation History! What a revelation!
I wonder what will be revealed tomorrow?
That concludes your religion lesson of the day. There will be a Test! Isn't there always?
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