And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31 NASB
When God created all things in the beginning, He said it was very “good.” Everything He made was in perfect harmony with His design for humanity. God had a natural balance set in place for all of creation. He chose to display this balance in the garden. Man was given free reign over all things and was told not to eat from one tree. This instruction gave us free will. Why was this particular tree placed in the garden? Why were they given this choice that would soon lead to destruction of everything that God put into place for them and would continue throughout generations to come? Everything was in order and set precisely. Through our “free will” or “choice”, we essentially have lost our first love. How can we get back to God’s original design for us by becoming absolutely surrendered? How can we fully love God in the way that He originally intended?
A great example of losing our first love is the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:4). Now the Apostle Paul stayed a long period of time in the town of Ephesus. He taught them so many things, recorded in the book of Ephesians. This is such a small book in the Bible but powerfully packed full of how we should live our lives today. Could this book be instructions for our lives? If you get a chance, read the book of Ephesians. Paul was absolutely surrendered to his call and to the Lord. He took a lot of time in this town to show them true love. He talked about everything from redemption, the power of God through faith, the blood of Jesus, our peace, overcoming, not to be afraid, how to walk in unity, grieving the Holy Spirit, love, children, parents, husbands and wives and more. I believe the key is unification. Paul’s words to the Ephesians are still for us today and it all comes together when we surrender and unify with God through Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. When we walk in one accord following the instruction from Paul who was Spirit filled from the Lord, we will also be victorious and glorify our King!
Because of the fall of man in creation, our God-ordained destinies—written in our books before we were thought of in heaven—have been delayed for a long time now (Psalm 139:16). Our choice of free will has led to the loss of God’s original model in the garden. One choice has set a path of destruction for generations to come. Our eyes have shifted from God and the love He intended for us to the world, a FALSE LOVE. Our absolute surrender has shifted focus to the natural world. These events begun in Genesis have led us to the end of the Bible where will one day be in the book of Revelation, Armageddon.
We will one day have to face this great event that will take place to restore all of humanity back into the original design God constructed. God is outside of time and has given us time on earth each day to atone to make our ways right by repenting, acknowledging that we have sinned, and ask for forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Savior of the world. He shed His blood and became sin by taking on our sins so we could have eternity with our Father as we see in the garden story in Genesis. He wants us to walk out our destinies He has for us and is giving us this time to make a change and to get back to the old ways, treading the path of the ancients, the ones who have gone before us.
We do not know all things. We see only in part and are given more as God desires. Only God knows all things for He is all powerful and all knowing at all times. We have been given the gift of the Bible which reveals hidden mysteries to us when we read it daily. This enables us to “walk it out” by applying these lessons to our lives today. The Bible reveals to us what God has had for us before the beginning of time. Armageddon is the final battle place, which will occur after the tribulation time period (read more about this in the book of Revelation). During this era, we will have exhausted our chances to make all things right. There will be no more chances to repent asking for forgiveness, no more opportunities to change our mind because God will have no more delays left for us. His wrath will be poured out over the earth and only those who have made things right in the eyes of the Lord, who have chosen Jesus and begun to walk in the ways of the Lord, will have eternity with Him. All others will go through the great judgment. Right now there is still time to make things right. We don’t know when the time or day will come, but God has given us this day to make a change—prepare and get ready! We have the ancient book of the Bible at our fingertips—the greatest manual of all time that supernaturally speaks and reveals things to us. All we need to do is open it up and read it.
You may wonder where absolute surrender comes into this scene. Absolute surrender is to fully love God. To use your free will to give up your life for God by picking up your cross and following Jesus. To behold Him, is to look like Him as others in the Bible beheld God. They became a mirror image of the Father. God’s light, the Holy Spirit light flowed out of them into the world. They were changed, transformed from the inside out. These valiant ones chose their free will, not to conform to the ways of the world which showed false love, but to surrender unconditionally. This allowed God to come into their hearts, while reflecting true love.
Absolute surrender is an inside job. It starts with choosing Jesus as your Savior to free you from the bondage of the world. Have you accepted Jesus Christ into your life? Do you believe He came and died for you to live a life in the Father? Have you repented for your old ways? If you believe all of this, then our God is gracious and merciful and accepts you into His family. He loves ALL people and does not want to leave any behind. That is why He is giving us time to choose free will to accept Him and live according to His ways and purposes for our lives and find our destinies designed uniquely for us.
The world has smoked up our lenses and led us down the wrong path. We lost our first love because we chose the world and all of the details that fall within a day, a 24-hour time period. God gave us Jesus to free us from the worldly paradigm ways of our thought patterns. The people of Ephesus lost their first love. Could it be that this book was left for us a manual of how to live in the world today? Absolute surrender is becoming like the love that God has for us—a love that unifies us with God and also with each other. It is a way of life intended for us all along. When we live like this, we will move in victory glorifying Him. We will be kingdom workers! The garden will begin to expand and God’s original design for all of humanity will start to take root once again. Restoration will take place. It begins with us!
Conflict has been around forever and we see this all throughout the Bible. Fear needs to go and love must be brought in. We have the blood of Jesus, the seed that sprung forth from Eve. We have the power and authority from the Lion and Lamb. We must change our mindset into the mindset of Christ.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29 NIV
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2 NIV
Now is the time to reflect individually and choose what God said was good in the beginning in Genesis. Take up your cross with Faith, hoping for things that are not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Stop blaming each other and start loving unconditionally. Follow the pattern set before us in Ephesians. If we are to understand love then we must take the first step and become love by becoming absolutely surrendered.
Do you have the desire to accomplish God’s will for your life? Have you accepted Jesus?
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NIV
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 NIV
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:13-14
Have you made atonement for your sins? Have you resolved all conflict and allowed love to enter into your total being? Are you prepared? (Read the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.)
Are you ready to go back to the ancient ways of old?
Surrender to the Father today and see what He has in store for you!
May God Bless you