As I mentioned before, I was brought up in a religious family. I believed in God, as the one to whom I can pray. I never thought there can be a God who is interested in my matters. really – if someone said that to me some years before, it would have been unbelievable. God loving me is beyond a question. In my childhood, I had never heard a statement like this – that God loved me.When I heard it also, I don’t think it had an impact on me. My family loves me, ok now God also loves me. A good to know statement. As I said earlier, I considered myself a good human. Helping poor, giving money for God, no lying or cheating, so I am in the good list. One day came in my life when I heard that we all are sinners. Really!! not for me. I am good. I do good things. The statement which I heard was that – We all are sinners, Christ came to this world to save sinners. I remember in my childhood, I saw the christian God Jesus hanging on a cross. I wondered why this Christian God was hanging on a cross? But then never gave much thought to it. Its the Christian’s God. I have my own God.
When someone says that everyone is a sinner, I couldn’t just get it. As much as I know I do good things, so how in the world can I be a sinner? In my eyes, I am good. I never thought from God’s viewpoint. Everyone have some silly habits like being jealous of others, making fun of others faults, saying small lies, but not big lies. When I say that I was a good person in my viewpoint, I didn’t consider small things like this. Everyone does it right, but I am upright in serious matters.
I heard Jesus is God and came into the world to save sinners. The meaning of the name Jesus is – the one who saves His people from their sins.
I heard this and thought good Jesus is a nice God then who came to save sinners like murderers, adulterers, liars, cheaters etc. That’s fine then. Its a good thing to save people from their wrongs, so Jesus as God who save people from wrong doings was fine for me.
But it took years for me to realise that I too am a sinner in God’s viewpoint. God slowly slowly started showing me that human beings are born in sin. The finest example is children, you don’t have to teach them to tell lies or fight with other children. Its natural for them to do so. Do parents teach children to fight or do other wrong things? Sometimes parents wonder how small children became selfish, not sharing their toys or other things, fighting with other children, taking others toys? Children do this without any training. Its because of sin within us. I realised after much time, that its true that we all are sinners. We may be able to impress other people with our goodness and righteousness. But what matters ultimately is what God says about me. Am I sinner or not?? God’s answer is everyone is a sinner in God’s eyes.
I thought I was a good person, But God said in His sight, there is none good, no not one. All are sinners. I had heard about this Adam Eve story. Initially God created man in His own image to have fellowship with Him. We as humans have spirit, soul and body.
Body comprising flesh, blood, our senses
Soul – mind, emotion, will
Spirit – Conscience, intuition, to fellowship with God
God told Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fallen angel satan tempted Eve and she ate the fruit and shared it with Adam. Thus they disobeyed God and was driven away from the presence of God. Fellowship with God was broken. God had given Adam dominion over the earth and the animals. When the first parents disobeyed God and obeyed satan, sin entered into the world. Sin is basically doing our own will instead of God’s will. We know children resemble the parents or grandparents because of genes. Similarly sin was transferred to the future human generations which was originated from the first parents. Everyone is born a sinner.
I thought God you loved me, but you made me realise that I am a sinner??