I am surrounded by darkness and my heart screams out for someone to rescue me. My innermost life source is being dragged into the abyss by the unseen hands of evil. I try to resist, but choice by choice I find myself deeper in despair. My heart is racing. My breath is fading. And darkness moves in for the kill.
~ The soul far from God

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Imagine passing by a house engulfed in flames and hearing the desperate cry of a child trapped inside. You run to a barred window only to see a beautiful little girl struggling to scream because the thick black smoke is quickly overtaking her. Her life is fading fast and she needs a hero. Most of you would do whatever it takes to rescue this little girl; even if it meant risking your very life.

What if the little girl was the one who started the fire? Would you still be willing to risk your life? What if she kept starting the fire over and over again? Would you still be willing to try to save her? What if you warned her about the dangers of what she was doing? What if others were hurt by her poor choices? What if she ridiculed you, questioned your motives, and even questioned your very existence? Would you still want to be her hero?

Welcome to God's perspective. You see, on our own, we are all destined for the eternal fire because we have violated God's ordinances and rebelled against Him. Sin has destroyed any chance of us having a relationship with Him on our own, so here we are in our sinful state, so very far from God.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
Romans 5:12 NLT

Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
Matthew 25:41 NLT

God knew the results of sin entering into the world:

1. Adam's sin nature would spread to everyone

2. Sin cannot exist in God's presence

3. Those who sin are destined for eternal fire

Therein lies the conflict. God designed our souls to live forever in fellowship with Him, but our sins disqualify us from even being in His presence. In an even more brutal realization, not only can we not be in God's presence, but we are headed towards a forever punishment beyond our most horrific nightmares. If anything ever needed rescuing, it was humanity. Thankfully, God had a plan.

God knew that we could never do enough good to erase our sin, so in an act of unimaginable kindness towards us, He sent His Son Jesus to be our hero. God knew that people would hate and mistreat Him. God knew that people would betray Him and ultimately kill Him. God knew that the very people who claimed to be His servants would lead the charge to destroy His Son, but God still sent Him. Why would He do such a thing? Because of His great love for us and our great need for Him.

Ultimately, until we surrender control of our life to Jesus, we are all far from God and headed for destruction. We are like the little girl in the fire. Our life is quickly slipping away and the darkness is closing in for the kill. The good news is, we have a hero and His name is Jesus:

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! No one who has faith in God’s Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn’t have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God’s only Son.
John 3:16-18 CEV

It's not an accident that you are reading this today. God is giving you the opportunity to start a personal relationship with His Son Jesus. If you feel God tugging at your heart and you want to take that first step towards Him, then pray something like this:

God, I want to begin a relationship with you through your son Jesus. I believe that he is your son and I believe that you sent him into the world to save me. Please forgive me of all of the bad things that I have done. I surrender my life to you, so please guide me and show me your will and your purpose for my life. I love you and thank you for loving me. In Jesus name, amen.

If you just started a new relationship with Jesus, here are a few suggestions to help you start growing in your faith:

1. Start reading God's word Be sure to get a version of the bible that is easy for you to understand and the book of John is a great place to start.

2. Spend time talking and listening to God Check out the Hearing God article for more info about listening to God.

3. Find a local church to connect with other followers of Jesus

4. Share your good news with others