All of Creation has an innate relationship with our Creator, God.  By Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.  Man was the pinnacle of God’s creation, unique, being called an image-bearer of God.  The perfect goodness, love, justness, and joy of God was meant to be reflected in man.  Instead of trusting in the goodness of God, man chose to reject God, seeking joy apart from Him.  Everyone born through man since has been born with the same inclination of the heart, pursuing joy apart from God, selfishly seeking self-fulfillment above all else, but finding only emptiness, pain, separation, and loss.  The consequences of sin.  The deception of sin is not that there is no happiness to be found; anyone who says sin is no fun at all is a liar – it will offer pleasure for a time.  No, the deception of sin is that it promises lasting joy without pain or consequence, and in that it has proven a liar time and time again; a horrible substitute for what man was created for; lasting joy in God.  The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  As an all powerful Creator, it would seem just for God to simply destroy all of man, but although God’s justice demands a punishment for sin, it is the love of God that led Him to bear it one behalf of man.  God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  God took on flesh as Jesus, came, lived a perfect life, and was crucified on a cross as punishment for sin that was not His own.  He made it His own.  The physical punishment was severe.  His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.  The wrath of God poured out on Jesus, was likewise beyond what we can imagine.  He was forsaken, not simply by men, but by God, for God cannot be in the presence of sin, His holiness is an all consuming fire.  The infinite value of Jesus’ sacrifice was more than enough.  He conquered death; the sin he bore could not hold him in the grave, because His holiness was greater still.  The justice of God was satisfied, Jesus’ death was more than enough to justify all those who would come to God in faith.  The love of God triumphed over the wrath of God that man’s sin required.  Jesus Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.  Jesus makes His appeal to us every day – come.  There are no more barriers, no more guilt and shame for sin, just come.  There is no intellectual theological puzzle to figure out first, there is no sin that needs cleaning up first; there is no sin that has not been completely paid for, even the one’s yesterday, even the ones a moment ago, even the ones in the future, just come.