Man

Genesis 1:27; 2:7

In Genesis 1:27 we read “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Going on to Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, & breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Man is a 3-letter word, a small word, which has a big meaning and covers a lot of territory. In these 2 passages of Scripture, we find that man was formed from the dust of the ground, in the image of our great Creator, God. God created us in His image. His creation, man, did not get to first base, one might say, before we failed ourselves and God. Adam and Eve, representing man, ate the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve had only one, not many commandments to obey from God. They fell short of God’s expectations and the devil looked on very pleased. We would be in big trouble if in this situation God had said, “Well, man it is all over. You couldn’t obey one command. Just for that I condemn you to hell for all eternity.” That would have given us no way to be redeemed and saved from our sin. Instead God’s love overcame his anger at what He had experienced in the fall of man and He offers forgiveness.

I have a tendency to take words, like M-A-N, and use the letters of the word, to illustrate a Biblical truth. When we visit the word, man, the first letter ‘m’ reveals to me God’s mercy on man. Mercy, which is also a fairly small word, has a huge meaning for all Christians. In Matthew 5:7 we find, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” That small verse speaks volumes concerning God’s mercy on man and mankind. Our heavenly Father is rich in mercy. Though we do not deserve it and cannot earn it, God forgives our sin. Mercy comes to us purely out of His grace and love, and it is a wonderful gift from God Himself. We find that mercy is one of God’s greatest attributes. Over in I Peter 1:3 we read, “In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope.” Our living hope is Jesus Christ and we have access to Him through the mercy of God. Mercy is nothing more than love in action. Mercy is an action and the clearest definition of mercy is Jesus Christ. The action of Jesus being born as God in human form, dying on the cross, and resurrecting from the grave achieved God’s mercy for man. God being willing to send His Only Begotten Son to be the sacrificial Lamb for mankind demonstrates His divine mercy on all of us who believe. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, each one of us have the opportunity to make the decision of whether or not we have eternal life with God in heaven. The only other option is denying Jesus Christ, and spending eternity in hell with Satan and all his followers.

The only way to heaven is through the door, Jesus Christ. We find in the scriptures that Jesus is the only way. He is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life and no one can come unto the Father but through Him. God has demonstrated His mercy on mankind down through the ages from Adam and Eve, to present day lives, and future lives until Jesus returns in the clouds. It is truly a blessing for each person, who has experienced the mercy of Almighty God and the product of that mercy, His Son, Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, who covers our sin. The one thing God cannot do is see our sins when they have been covered by the blood of Jesus. What a tremendous gift that is sufficient and free.

The next letter in man is ‘A’. The ‘A’ could stand for God’s atonement. Atonement is the reconciliation, the process by which God and man can once again become ‘at-one.’ We receive this atonement by the life of Jesus Christ. Matthew 20:28 says, “Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” It states that Jesus gave His life a ransom for many including you and me, if we desire to accept His gift. Ephesians 2:16 reveals “And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross having slain the enmity thereby.” When we reconcile our bank statements, we are attempting to make our records match the bank. When we reconcile our lives we accept Jesus as Savior and He becomes our reconciliation to God. He makes all things right between us and God. When we have been reconciled through Jesus, then we become an heir to the throne and access to all that is in heaven.