Bible Minute: Separated from God

In the beginning, when God created the first two people, Adam and Eve, they had intimate friendship and fellowship with God, and lived in a paradise called the Garden of Eden. They were innocent and guilt-free, having never committed any kind of wrongdoing.

They were free of fear, worry, blame, regret, and all other kinds of negative emotions that people experience now. In this paradise, there was only one law. There was a certain tree whose fruit Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat.

Unfortunately, Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit of this tree, violating God's law. Then, everything changed. Because they broke God's law, their close friendship with Him was severed, and they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

Not only that, but now they would grow old and die. God had warned them that the consequences of eating from this tree would be death. God gave them the ability to choose, and they chose the path of disobedience.

The Bible teaches us that our wrongdoing separates us from God. The prophet Isaiah said,. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

Furthermore, the Bible also teaches us that when we do wrong, we earn death. God still loved Adam and Eve as much as ever, but He could no longer commune with them as before. He couldn't go on as if nothing had happened.

Just like Adam and Eve, we all choose to disobey God. Our disobedience to God causes us to be out of fellowship with Him just like Adam and Eve. And just like them, we will also die because death is the ultimate punishment for our disobedience.

In our present condition, eternal life and friendship with God is out of the question. There is a price that must be paid when we do wrong. That price is eternal death. But God is merciful. Because God loves us, He has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him and avoid our death penalty.

If we take advantage of His reconciliation, we will be granted fellowship with Him. We'll still experience death, but for those who have been reconciled to Him, He has promised to one day raise us from the dead, never more to die.

The reconciled have been promised an eternal and immortal future with Him.