Genesis 2:16 "And the Lord God (Jehovah Elohim) commanded the man 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you must not eat from. When you eat from it you will surely die'."
What does it mean to you that God created you. Well, lets look at the alternative. If you were a product of random chance, lightening striking some primordial slime somehow forming simple cells which eventually grew a tail and legs, crawled out of the slime, and over millions of years turned into you - that would mean you are an accident. You would have no reason for being here, no standard of right or wrong, no meaning to your life. Let's look at the alternative - a God who created you for a purpose - an owner who knows how you function best. A God who loves you so deeply that He is willing to sacrifice His life to have you with Him forever.
That creator gave one rule at the beginning - don't eat from one tree, the day you do you will die. God said "you are free to..." God wasn't into rules, He wanted maximum freedom and He knew that violating that one rule would destroy freedom.
When I bought my car, it came with an owners manual ; 400 pages of does and don'ts. But it has one interesting phrase attached to it quite often, "If you want your automobile to function at it's maximum capacity and last a long time...". How can they say that? They created it! How dare they impinge on my freedom with all these rules? They are trying to give you the freedom to avoid breakdowns and get the ultimate enjoyment from your car.
A lot of people look at the Bible and say, "why would I become a Christian, look at all the rules I have to follow! I want to be free to do my own thing." The problem is that God is the Creator. He is Elohim. He knows what makes you work well and give you the ultimate freedom. He is the owner who gives you the owners manual. He knows what damage lying, stealing, cheating, drunkenness, gossiping, sex outside of marriage, greediness, etc do to a human being and it is contrary to His will and your design.
Besides the consequences here and now,they cause death as seen in the Genesis passage. Since we know Adam and Eve didn't immediately die, this meant a spiritual death or separation from God. Fortunately God made a way to take these sins away from us , give us a brand new start, and bring us back to life again through the death and resurrection of His Son, which by the way is also in the "Owner's Manual" on how to fix things once you break them.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor.5:21
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Pet. 2:24
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
No wonder the psalmist can say, "Oh how I love your law, it is my meditation day and night." Loving law? Can you say that? I hope you understand why that is possible.
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