Acts 17:26-28: From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and He determined their boundaries. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him—though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, “We are His offspring.”

When testifying about their faith in Jesus, I often hear people say things like, “I just don’t know where I would be today if the Lord hadn’t saved me.” However, before we address that statement, let’s go back to the origin of all mankind. If it hadn’t been for the Lord God, none of us would even be alive. Is it not amazing that, although man originated from God, only a small portion of people will dare to acknowledge God’s existence, and even fewer will acknowledge their faith in Jesus?

If we only live, and move, and have our existence in God, then how much of our life or what we own should we be willing to attribute to Him? ALL OF IT! If this is true, and the Scriptures bear it out that it is, then why don’t more people give more honor and glory to God? When Satan caused man to sin against God, he accomplished far more than just getting them to eat a piece of fruit. Through sin, we also became separated from the life of God in our minds because of spiritual blindness. The Bible records that after they had eaten the forbidden fruit, the eyes of them were opened, and they knew they were naked. Sin does separate us from God, just like death separates us from life. Nevertheless, sin goes much deeper than separating us from God; it also separates our minds from knowing the mind of God.

If we don’t know God or know how to walk in His ways, then how will be able to please Him? The writer of Hebrews reveals that without faith, it is impossible to please or agree with God. We must believe that He exists, and He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Here is where the problem lies: Because sin had separated us from life, the heart of man became darkened through the deceitfulness of sin. Consequently, we learned to lean on our own understanding and stopped seeking God.

Thus, man began to take the glory and honor for his or her accomplishments and denied the existence of the living God. We were blind and lost in the “pit of sin,” without hope. But God! Had it not been for God and His infinite mercy, we all would be headed for an eternity of torment and pain. Now, we, who have been saved can also testify as to where we would be had it not been for the Lord saving us.

The Lord invites us to call upon Him while He is near and to seek Him while He may be found. It’s not that man is reaching up to God, but rather God is reaching down to man. Salvation never began in the heart or mind of man; it began in the heart of God. He is, indeed, our heavenly Father. Even so, will people allow Him that place in their life? Even though man missed the will and destiny of God in the beginning, today, we can get back on track by humbling ourselves and seeking His face.

No one has the promise of life beyond the breath that you just breathed. Therefore, we should be willing to accept the gift of eternal life while we have the chance and acknowledge that life begins with God. After we accept this gift, we must also remember that God is the one who authored it, and it will be God, who will complete that work in us. As a result, our response to God should always be one of humility and brokenness along with a deep desire to know Him as our heavenly Father. God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. The Lord gives grace to those who are humble before Him.  —submitted by Pastor Asa Dockery, US