God Redeems, God Rewards
Let me give you an illustration to prove my point. An engineer who has invented a machine or an engine has full knowledge of the potential, capacity, and limitations of his invention as he was the one who designed and put all of its parts together. As its maker, he also knows the proper way of using and taking care of it, hence, he prepares a manual of instructions that aims to educate its would-be users for them to get the best that the machine can offer. That is, by following the dos and don’ts enumerated therein.
It is apparent that even before the engineer came up with his finished product, being a person with foresight, he has figured out the problems that might arise as the machine grows old — and if its user becomes reckless and disobedient to his given instructions. And should the engine fail or malfunction, the manual of instructions also provides simple troubleshooting tips and a list of reputable and trusted service centers that could fix the problem.
God is also an engineer but He is no ordinary engineer because He is the One who makes engineers. Being man’s Creator, His wisdom, ingenuity, craftsmanship, and foresight are beyond compare — they are unparalleled. And His love for man, His masterpiece, is beyond question. One proof of that is before God created man, He first made sure that man would have a conducive dwelling place wherein all of his needs are already available and accessible. And that is the earth.
God intended the earth to be man’s habitation. As it is written in ACTS 17:26, (KJV),
God knows His creation inside out, from the most prominent details to the microscopic ones. He knows man’s every aspect — his strengths and weaknesses, his tendencies and limitations, and even the possible course of action that he might take given a certain circumstance or situation.
But unlike a man-made engine whose function depends largely on human intervention, the man that God created enjoys a certain degree of freedom. He can do things out of his own volition because aside from equipping him with faculties, God also gave him free will.
However, his freedom is not really absolute because there are also certain dos and don’ts that God laid before him; God also gave him a set of laws that he needs to follow and a list of warnings and precautions that he needs to take heed of. And all these are written in His “manual of instructions” — the Bible. Concurrent with his freedom is the awareness that if he disobeys, there are corresponding consequences, the same way that there are rewards if he opts to obey. But just the same, the decision to obey or disobey is his prerogative because he has free will.
God had foreseen the possibility that man might misuse and abuse his free will. We have to remember that one of the attributes of God is that He has the power to see things before they happen. Actually, as for the story of humanity, He knows it from its beginning up to the end, although the end is yet to come.
As it is written in ISAIAH 46:9-10 (KJV),
In these verses, God introduced Himself, His power, and His capability, as incomparable. Like what He said, there is none like Him. Nobody can be equally like Him in power, not even His Son. For one, only God can declare the end from the beginning.
God knows what is going to happen in the future. God had foreseen the possibility that man might not use his free will prudently, that he would disregard His precautions and warnings, disobey His dos and don’ts, and consequently, fall into sin. But unlike the ordinary engineer whose care and concern for his creation is limited only to preparing a manual of instructions and recommending service centers, God’s love and compassion for man is beyond measure. In fact, even before man was created, it was not only his place of habitation that God prepared but also the sacrifice that is more than sufficient to redeem him when he falls to sinfulness. And that is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
This biblical truth inevitably leads one to ask this question: “Does it mean that the Lord Jesus Christ had been preordained to manifest Himself in the flesh from the beginning in order to redeem man from sins?”
The answer to this question is given in REVELATION 5:9 (KJV), which says,
The pronouns “thou” and “thy” in the verse refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was slain, and by His blood, He redeemed every kindred and tongue, every people and nation.
When was He slain?
REVELATION 13:8 (KJV)
The Lamb, which symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ, “was slain from the foundation of the earth.” The statement “from the foundation of the earth” refers to the time when God was still creating the earth, meaning, man still doesn’t exist yet during that time. But as early as then, God had already foreseen the need for a Redeemer because He had seen the possibility that man would later on fall into transgression. That Redeemer is the Lamb, representing the Lord Jesus Christ, who had been destined to be slain from the foundation of the earth.
Aside from having the capacity to declare the end from the beginning, God also said in Isaiah 46:10, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” This is a very significant pronouncement of God because that “pleasure” is the theme of our existence. It is the reason why we exist — to give pleasure unto our Creator.
REVELATION 4:11 (KJV)
All things that exist were created for the pleasure of our Creator. And we know that His pleasure has no evil in it.
Whenever cabinet secretaries are being challenged to resign from their posts by the citizens who are dissatisfied with their performance, but they do not want to resign, we often hear them say that they serve at the pleasure of the President. Meaning, only the President can remove them from office as he was the one who put them there. But unlike the pleasure of a President which can be wrong, the pleasure of the Almighty God can never be wrong. We will always be safe if we exist for the pleasure of our Creator.
As God’s creations, the best that we can do is to show Him our gratefulness for our existence and for the Lamb that He prepared, which was slain from the foundation of the earth. Because through His blood, we were saved from sins. Again, the Lamb symbolizes the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
But God’s graciousness does not end there. He has also prepared a reward for those who will continue to live their lives for His pleasure and for those who will faithfully abide by His dos and don’ts written in His “manual of instructions,” the Bible. And His reward is also without measure — a life everlasting. May we all be found deserving of His promised reward. Amen.
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