Omar Miranda

Living Backwards?! Omar Miranda

Satan runs the show! It's a very unnerving and messed up fact, but the bottom line is that when Adam and Eve cast their universal "vote" for Satan, they basically willingly handed him the keys to our planet. I know that you don't want to hear that and it makes me angry. Because of Satan and Adam and Eve, all of us have been born into this sinful world with a sinful DNA and an all-natural, 100% sinful nature. Isn't it amazing that no one had to teach you to lie, cheat, hate, or steal? It comes naturally, doesn't it? That's why Jesus' statements known as "The Sermon on the Mount" are that much more difficult to digest. What Jesus wants from us as His followers goes 180° opposite from what the world is like-from what we are naturally like. What's the world like? Well, Jesus' original follower, John puts it like this: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh [craving for physical pleasure], the lust of the eyes [craving for everything we see], and the pride of life [craving for achievements & possessions]-is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:15-16). Basically, Jesus wants us to live super-naturally-totally opposite; He wants us to live...backwards, and by doing that, we will show a watching world (and universe) that the law of God (and God, by extension) is loving, fair, righteous, and that His law can be kept simply from an unforced choice on our part that stems from a thankfulness to Him for the grace and mercy He's given to us.