Many people have many different ideas of what Christianity is about and what being a Christian means. I would like to take the time to explain what it is all about. Let us start at the beginning.
The Bible tells us, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) God is good and what He makes is good. In the first Chapter of Genesis, we read that God saw His work and said that it was good. God has only ever meant good for mankind.
In Genesis 2:7 we read, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." When God made the first man and woman He not only created them, but also made their lives to have fellowship with each other and Himself. Peace reigned in the Garden of Eden. God created us so that we could have a relationship with Him.
The perfect environment of the Garden of Eden was a threat to Satan so he tempted Eve and Adam to go for the fruit that God had forbidden them to eat. This temptation was a trick to get their attention off the things they had got, and on to the things that were wrong, so that Satan could get control of their will. Genesis Chapter 3 says, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."" Temptation is not a sin, but giving into temptation leads to sin.
Each time we have a choice, to do what God wants us to do, or what we want to do. Wrong choices bring disaster, separation and in the end death. Death to our relationships, purity and life. Adam and Eve were conned, but it was too late, they had failed and they knew it. They lost their security, their relationship with each other changed and most importantly their relationship with God changed. In Genesis we read, "So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."" They were hiding from God and were afraid. Man ever since has lived in this 'fallen' state, separated from God by Sin. We may think to ourselves, 'Well I've never sinned.' Let us read what the Bible says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 Also in scripture it tells us the results of sin, "For the wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23a
Now many years later sin still separates us from God. We have got to the point where we almost accept it. We even try to justify it, by saying that God does not exist. But do you ever wonder why you feel as though there is something missing in your life? Do you ever wonder what will happen to you when you die? These thoughts come from the fact that we long to come back to God, to restore that special relationship with Him. We try to replace it with all sorts of things, material possessions, money, fast living. None of them can replace that relationship.