The Stakes Involved
The simple message of the Bible is that each of us was created and given life by an infinite, holy, and perfect God, and that the purpose of our existence is to be in a relationship with him forever. The Bible points to the incredible wonders of God’s creation as evidence of a powerful and moral creator greater who is above all mankind. Everything from wonder of the stars and universe, to the intricacies of the human body, to the ability to love and the sense of right and wrong inside each person - all of these point to something greater than us.
Romans 1:20 says it this way, "From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So that have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God."
The Bible then tells us the wonderful news that this all powerful creator desires a relationship with each of us. In fact, it says that humanity was originally created for a relationship with him, until something went terribly wrong.
What went wrong is sin. Beginning with the first man and woman, each person in different ways has broken God's eternal laws about right and wrong. These choices to know right but do wrong, and to know wrong but to choose it anyway created a devastating and fatal break in to the relationship God desired and created us for. The consequences of this break have left each of us cut off from our creator and our true purpose and meaning in this life - condemning us to eventual physical and spiritual death. Romans 3:23 tell us, "For all have sinned, all fall short of God's glorious standard."
Like a tree or flower cut off from its root is already dying and will begin to wither, our lives, because of the choice of sin and the separation from our creator, will soon fade. For a few, the sense that something is wrong or missing begins early in their lives. Most others, though, often spend years or even a lifetime trying to fill the void inside with wealth, family, achievement, good deeds, or other things that our world tells us are the answer to the emptiness inside. The reality however, is that each person living their life apart from a relationship with God are missing what they were made for, and will never find the full, deep, and abundant life that God desires for them.
