In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. According to Genesis chapter one, God created everything that man needs in five days. On the sixth day, He created man. For every creation God also prepared a favorable environment; for birds the air, for fish the sea, for animals the land and so on. As fish cannot survive without water so also was man that he cannot lead a normal life without the presence of God. If you closely study Genesis chapter one, you would easily notice the following.

1.   Genesis 1:20-22, "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth." Notice what it says, "… let the waters bring forth …" They came out of the waters.

2.  Genesis 1:24-25, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good." These creatures came out of the earth.

3.   Genesis 1:26-27, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Watch this! When God was about to create man, He paused and had a council within Himself and said, "Let us make man in our image …" You see, man came out of God, not out of creation.

Why do we need to say all this? Because our identity is drawn from no one else but GOD. As clear as the scripture are, man has disconnected himself from God through disobedience. If you read the story in Genesis chapter 3, you will learn how Adam and Eve transgressed the command of God and were expelled from Eden. What made Eden special was not the beauty of the garden but it was the presence of the Lord.

The word SIN can best be defined as "man declaring independence from His Father, God." In Hebrew language, "sin" means rebellion against God. The rest are just the manifestations of rebelliousness. Whoever you obey, you become his servant. Adam and Eve obeyed the devil and they became his servants.

In John 8:14, "Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go." Jesus knew where he came from and where he was going to. This is so important that we also need to find out for ourselves. What you don't know is killing you. In Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."

Do you know where you came from, why you came for and where you are going to?

In John chapter eight the Israelites claimed that they were children of God. These were not only laymen but also teachers of the Law - the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and also the Priests. Then Jesus boldly made this statements which provoked them to stone Him. "Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." John 8:42-44.

Let's study the meaning of the word "Father". It is a title rather than a name. It means source, nourisher, sustainer, supporter, founder and protector. It all began with Adam and Eve when they replaced their source of knowledge, God, with Satan. They took the advice of the serpent. Though it began with Adam, man still has continued to look for other sources instead of God and this caused us to loose our identity. The question is, "Who is leading my life?" Look at the clothe you were, the way you talk, the way you walk, the way you act and the way you deal with things.

The very reason that Jesus came to this earth is to restore man's identity. That is why in Ephesians 2:12-15 the bible gives us hope, "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace."

According to the bible, you cannot automatically be a child of God just because you are a human being or just because you like God. It happens only when one accepts and believes what Jesus did on the cross to reconcile us back to God. Notice in the above scripture that the Lord wants to use His creative power to make one new man! Hallelujah! When you become a believer and restore your fellowship with God, you will be a new creation! "And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:15-17.

1.      Genesis 2:15, "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." Eden means presence, spot. The first thing a man needs is the presence of God. A man outside of God's presence is a malfunction. In James 2:23, "And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God."  Is God your friend?

2.      Genesis 2:15, "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." God gave man the garden to cultivate and protect. Man gets his fulfillment from his work. A man who is unproductive is destructive. 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."

3.      Genesis 2:16-17, "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." God gave him His law (word). Our obedience to his words demonstrates our love to Him.

In conclusion, I encourage you to come back to God and draw you identity from Him and find the answer to life's hardest questions: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going to? Let me remind you once again that your destiny is in the hands of your Maker? Lead a life as it was intended by the Master designer even before you were born. Let me close with these beautiful words of King David in Psalm 139:14-18.