Rightful Authority and Restoration

From the beginning of creation, the Lord was intent on passing on his kingship to the man and woman He would form. After making the earth, bodies of water, day and night, and all kinds of plant and animal life, God made Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were not another specie of animal. Their status was much higher. The Lord said with special emphasis that man was, “ … created in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them,” (Genesis 1:27).

Humanity’s first parents were given everything, including one amazing gift–the ability to create their own children and make a family, just as God had created Adam and Eve and made them His children, caring for them as a Father. Hierarchy of authority (not hierarchy of value) was established: God, man in being created first, and then woman in being created from man.

God held nothing back from Adam and Eve, except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, that would be in the Garden of Eden with them. Interestingly, He didn’t guard the tree whose fruit would give them this knowledge. He only commanded his children not to eat of this fruit or they would die. I believe in doing this, God established at least two principles: you can choose to obey me (life), or you can choose not to obey me (death). I am the supreme authority, knowing good and evil without corruption.

Neither Adam nor Eve had any desire to disobey God. Life was good. He set them as rulers over the earth and blessed them with the ability to enjoy intimacy with each other and with God, without fear of any kind. Then, Satan hissed a lie in Eve’s ear, causing her to doubt God’s love and therefore, His right to Sovereignty. She ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and she gave her husband to eat.

Both Adam and Eve lost their home in paradise and fell under the authority of a new master: Satan, the fallen archangel of old. Their spirits dead to God as He had warned, Adam and Eve were condemned to follow the desires of the flesh, now corrupted with sin. The result of living under the authority of Satan in today’s world is evident: fathers abandon their children, mothers have abortions, teenagers grow up bitter and rebellious because of parents forsaking their responsibilities, women rule over men in the household, children are sold for sex, etc.

If our parents are not perfect, or if our families are dysfunctional from sin, are children doomed to live out a similar life of dysfunction? How can teens, who might be abandoned or abused, have the life God wants them to have?

We must believe in Jesus, receive forgiveness, come back under God’s rightful authority and put His Words into practice with His help. This heals us and we will experience peace and hope. We can restore harmony and order in ourselves and in our families.

Restoration will not happen overnight. We must respect how deeply sin has damaged our psychology. God also respects our decisions and will not heal where He is not wanted. Salvation and perfection in God’s sight is immediate upon belief in Jesus, but the restoration of our soul is a journey, a wonderful journey, with pain along the way, that will always have a purpose because God is awesome like that.

What lies have you believed about yourself, your family or your future? Are you willing to submit to God’s rightful authority to experience peace?