02/2003          
APrayer
of Jesus
I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise
and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will

YOUR QUESTION


    7. Why are We Vulnerable to Desire?
 Why would the Lord create us and design us in such a way as to make us so vulnerable to different things?  Like, look but do not touch or, it looks so good but do not taste.  It seems that we were created with certain abilities which we are not to exercise.  For example, the feeling or natural desire to defend ones self, the sexual desire and the desire to want nice things.  Are these things man has incorporated into his nature or were they put there by God?

Consider the last question first:

"Are these things man has incorporated into his nature or were they put there by God?"

One can confidently say that man himself did not incorporate these things into his nature.  They are the product of the creative process for which God alone is responsible. So then we come to your first and primary question:

"Why would the Lord create us and design us in such a way as to make us so vulnerable to different things."

We will briefly list four critical factors that blend together.

(1) Evolution is the means by which God has created us, and this process is continuing.  It is so slow as to be imperceptible apart from the careful analysis of the artifacts of ages past.  All the things you mention come from the carnal senses -- touch, taste, natural desire for self-defense (love of life), sex, desire for "nice" things . . . and these exists in us because each one gives our specie an evolutionary advantage.  In other words, without them we would not have survived and evolved due to the destructive tendencies of nature. We would not be here.  From a purely logical/scientific point of view, these characteristics are essential to our existence. Almost everyone embraces them and, in the love of life, seeks in every way both to survive and to enrich life in this world.  It is precious to men.  

We love life; therefore we are.

(2) This is all part and parcel of God's plan to reproduce children for his Glory.  This requires that the children be in the image of the parent, and so we have inbreathed within us a component that is not due to evolution -- the spiritual image of God that sets us apart from all other evolved creatures.  The Bible describes this metaphorically as the event when God breathed into the nostrils of Adam (man) and he became a "living soul." This divine likeness qualifies us to choose to become children of God -- divine offspring.  But while we reside in the world we are driven -- tempted -- to seek its fulfillment in the gratification of the carnal desires (such as you have listed) that arise through evolution. This issues in sin and spiritual death, which is the perversion of our divine essence and  the misdirection of the divine intention.

(3) Free will is the most prominent feature of our divine essence. (The thirst for Glory is a close second.) This requires that we have choices.  Real choices must be desirable or, at the very least, have desirable features.  Who chooses what is not desirable, save it be the lesser of two evils, and therefore the most nearly desirable?  The life we have in this world, with all its passions, temptations, and desired things such as you mention constitutes a desirable option that most of us gladly and freely choose. We yield ungraciously to the ravages of old age should that be our lot.  Such is the normal application of the love of life.  Apart from its many desirable and tempting things, this life would not be a valid option; our predecessors would not have wanted it, and would not have sought to preserve themselves.  The consequence would be that we would not be here!  Do you see how this love of life -- this batch of desires -- provides the evolutionary advantage that explains our existence?

(4) The evolutionary development of humans brought our predecessors, about two thousand years ago, to the point at which they became competent to seek out and know God as Father.  They were, and we continue to be, competent to know God and therefore responsible before him for our choices and our conduct.  At this point the Father sent Jesus to declare the ultimate Truth of our existence, and this enlightens us to see the eternal destiny He would have us fulfill.  Jesus reveals that our destiny is to become eternal spirits.  We are meant to become children of God the Father - creator by being "born anew," and this is one of our two primary options.  The first, the life in this world as defined in (3) above, and the second, the eternal life of the Father's Glory.

John.3

[3] Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
[7] Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born anew.'
(5) We have, then, the choice of either life in this world or eternal life with the Father.  This is the Great Principle that explains all!  Jesus not only taught the Truth of our intended destiny but he crowned his teaching with his personal example of how to achieve it, showing that if any one is to go to the Father, it must be as one who has chosen the Father and rejected life in this world as a fulfilling destiny.  And so he said,

Matt.16

[24] Then Jesus told his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Mark.8

[34] And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Luke.9

[23] And he said to all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
What does he mean, "would come after me?"  Where to?

To the Father!  

To conclude this brief response to your question, the temptation to these desirable things arose through evolution and is a necessary concomitant to our divine likeness and our free will.  Apart from these desires we would not be here.  These desirable things constitute one of the options between which we must choose even though most people, and in particular most Christian, do not realize it due to the darkness that enshrouds them.  We can give ourselves to a consummation in terms of these worldly desires, or we can choose the glorious destiny of an eternal life in the Father's house.  

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