God's Sabbath

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E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

If we are in doubt as to whether we should let God occupy the role of Plan Maker, or whether we should appoint ourselves to that position, we have ample evidence upon which to base our decision. We can study what developed as a result of the wrong choice made by Adam and Eve, and compare those consequences with what would have been if they had submitted their problems to God instead. If we consider the price which our first parents paid for the doubtful privilege of becoming their own plan makers, we will be less likely to walk in their footsteps. Their choice cost them ev erything. Despite their full and deep repentance, they still had to suffer the consequences of their sin. They lost their home in Eden, they lost their two first-born sons, and they brought un told misery and suffering on this world. They had to suffer hard ships and experience sorrows which they would never have known if they had followed God’s plan for them. Finally their foolish choice cost them their lives, although because of their true repentance they did not lose eternal life. An eventual con sequence of their wrong choice was that the only begotten Son of God was put to death. All those who reject the Sabbath rest principles by trusting in their own ability to solve their problems in preference to God’s ways, will similarly suffer the consequences. The options are clear-cut. If we let God be our Problem Solver in every respect, it will be impossible for us to be lost. Eternal life is guaranteed to those who continue to trust and submit to God. If we make a mistake and realize we have trusted our own plans in the place of God’s, and then turn back to God in full repentance, we will regain true Sabbath rest. If we knowingly insist on making our own plans and solving the resultant problems ourselves, we will pay the price in full. Eternal separation from God and everlasting oblivion are all that we can expect. When we could be enjoying eternal bliss, we will instead have passed through the second death and be facing eternal extinction. (See Revelation 2:11, 20:6, 14, 21:8.) Let each of us ask ourselves: Is the cost of trying to play God worth it? The answer is self-evident.