Satan’s DeceptionSample

Isolation’s Long Shadow

Satan’s deception, along with Adam and Eve’s sin, completely altered the human condition. Without God’s initiative and intervention, there would be no hope for change. In the Old Testament, Job describes humankind’s sad and hopeless state, separated from the Creator. Job articulates the universal groanings of the human spirit that cries out, “What can I do? I have no hope. Nothing that I do is good enough. I am guilty, and I know it. I could scrub my hands until they bleed, but still, they would not be clean.”

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul reiterates the condemned status of people separated from God by their sins and iniquities. He said that those who live apart from Christ do not have hope and do not receive His covenant promises nor citizenship among God’s people.

People estranged from God are often on a quest to find and appease Him. They often perform penance or indulge in self-flagellation, some even crawling on bloodied knees for miles towards shrines and empty altars. All human attempts to reconcile with God are in vain. Nothing that an individual can do will ever bridge sin’s separating chasm.

The apostle Paul asks the question that is within the heart of everyone aware of his or her hopeless condition: “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24–25a, NLT). The apostle Paul’s answer gives hope to all people.

God created people with His likeness to live in dignity rather than shame. No human being was ever intended to grovel or to be debased. God’s redemptive plan exposes the wounds of sin so that there can be healing and wholeness again.

God’s gospel of redemption tells us how much He has invested in restoring people to Himself. It unveils His grace and love that make it possible for people to experience His salvation, which brings renewed dignity, vital equality, and dynamic purpose to their daily lives. Redemption brings light and dispels the long shadow of isolation.

God, thank You for having a redemptive plan to bring Your life to me.