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In the beginning, the Deceiver had a plan. His target was God, but his mark was man.
God created the world. God created Adam and Eve; in His own image He created them. Satan’s fall from heaven landed him upon the back of man. His hatred for God gave him fuel for the fire he unleashed upon mankind. His attack upon image-bearing humanity is ultimately an attack upon God himself. Adam and Eve were a means to an end.
The Accuser began by offering and fostering doubt. He sowed seeds of distrust of God in the hearts of Adam and Eve. He distracted them, exploiting their vulnerability and shifting their focus from God.
Doubt led to distraction, distraction led to division. Once fellowship with the Almighty was broken God’s beloved image-bearers followed not the lead of their faithful Creator and Father, but of the one who came to kill and destroy. The man blamed the woman (and by extension, God) and the woman blamed the serpent. Fingers were pointed and blame was placed. They chose division over unity. They chose accusation over responsibility.
Of course they did. They were deceived, they were distracted, and they lost focus. We are not so dissimilar from our original ancestors. We have a tendency to wander from our Creator, become distracted, and seek to place blame. The result of this will always be division.
Yet hope remains! The finished work of Jesus Christ has delivered us from bondage to doubt, distraction, and division.
If we experience doubt, distraction, or division, know that these are tactics of the evil one. And he has been defeated by the blood of the Lamb, our Savior, Jesus Christ! We need not give in to these difficulties but recognize them for what they are and work to preserve the unity of all believers by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” –Galatians 3:27-28
Unity comes by prayer, it comes by seeking the good of others, and it comes by grounding ourselves in the love of our Father, and dependence upon Him in all things and at all times. To do so is to live a life perpetually fixing our focus upon Jesus, our one true Hope!
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