“Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped
and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”
– Romans 1:25
Don’t
tread on me. The sticker was boldly
position on the back window of a Chevy 4X4, challenging everyone to take
notice. The image of a rattlesnake bowed
up and in striking position. Bold,
brash, and defiant. The snake, ready to
take on anyone or anything that would threaten him. A symbol of self-preservation, the embodiment
of rebellion.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He made light,
earth, fish, the sun, the moon, the stars; beasts, the fowls of the air, and
finally mankind. We were created by the
Creator and placed in the Garden of Eden.
We were given stewardship of the Creator’s creation. The serpent, the devil himself, came in and deceived
mankind with a lie. That we will be as gods. The fall of man was marked with a curse. Adam was cursed to till the ground. Eve was
cursed in child bearing and her desire would be to her husband. The serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly
and enmity was placed between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The seed of the serpent would bruise her seed’s
heel, but the seed of the woman will bruise the serpent’s head. Before the fall, everything existed in
harmony: the creature, creation, and the Creator were all one. There was no enmity, only unity, fellowship,
and peace. After the fall there was
enmity. The carnal seed birthed from the
loins of the serpent was sown deep within the heart of mankind forever at war
with the longing for righteousness that remained within the humanity of mankind. A desire within the creature to once again be
in harmony with the Creator. This is why
Paul writes when I would do good evil was
present within me. A struggle
exists, between a constitution of morality that remains within man, and a defiant
nature of carnality that ultimately rules man; until Christ comes. The Christ, the Son of the Living God; he
walked on Earth as the instrument to restore what was lost. Christ’s death, burial and resurrection destroyed
the power of the devil, treading down the old serpent, stomping him to death. He then ascending into heaven and gave the
gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost,
Jesus’s second coming, within the heart of a forgiven person, bringing victory
over carnality and renewal to the harmony between creation and Creator. Thereby removing the rebellion within. The serpent has always, and will always promote
the creature over the Creator. That was
the first lie and the only lie; told over and over again. Dressed up in a million different ways, over
thousands of years; the end result always self over selflessness, me over
Christ, sin over righteousness. The same
lie remains: we can be gods, and rule ourselves. This lie is so propagated throughout society that
we have gone so far as to maintain that God did not even create us; rather that
we are evolved, and we believe it so completely that we are willing to teach it
to our children. Open rebellion. Don’t tread on me.
When
you live without Jesus in your heart you are living in the “don’t tread on me”
mindset. Bold, brash, and defiant. It is worshiping and serving the creature
more than the Creator. The tragedy is
this. God has something better prepared
for his creation. He desires full
fellowship with us. Jesus Christ tasted
death, so that we might have life once again.
He brought salvation down to a personal level. The ultimate instrument of redemption to
whosoever will. Obedience to the Creator
brings far more peace and liberty than trying to serve the creature.
