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Living Life With Blinders On, a book by Dr. Julius Mosley II, is an account of personal revelation, reminding readers that there is certainty and security in following God’s divine plan.
The focus of contemporary biblical study among Christians is usually on the New Testament, which is unsurprising considering it is where the bulk of Jesus Christ’s teachings are. Still, there are lessons also to be learned from the Old Testament, whose stories tend towards the more historical and visceral as compared to the Gospels. In the Old Testament, Christians are introduced to Abraham, and Moses, the old prophets who spread the word of God before Christ descended and then returned to heaven.
In pursuing truth, knowledge, the meaning of life, and the grace of the Lord, it is always good to have a beginning; what better place to start with than the “beginning?” Bereshit (“In the beginning”) is the first word of the bible in Hebrew, where Christians can learn the essential points of Christianity and faith and be better followers of God.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock and all the wild animals, and the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26
Before creation, there was only God before anything could begin and become; at the beginning of time, He created heaven and the Earth. These were followed by the inception of light, which He divided equally into night and day cycles. Within six days, He had separated the sky and the sea and created dry land and the continents. Then, He ushered in the plants and the animals, winged, crawling, hooved, scaled, air-breathing, water-dwelling, until at last, before resting, He created humanity, who counts Adam as the first man and Eve, the first woman.
The reality that God created humankind in His likeness, whether in body or mind or soul or all three, means that everyone has the potential to become great and be admitted into the gates of heaven. These two attributes, at the least, prove God’s divine spark in every human, allowing them to communicate with Him and be infinitely closer.
The realization that God created everyone in His perfect image reminds people that whenever there is uncertainty and darkness, He has a plan for each person. Your life may not fully track the same as that of others, but know God Himself has planned it all out for you—that for all the faults and wrongs of life, there is something at the end waiting for everyone if they choose to take it.
“Surely I was sinful at birth from when my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5
When Eve was tempted by the serpent and did the same to Adam, eating from the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, humanity had acquired original sin. Thus, did God send Adam and Eve, and consequently humankind, out of Eden, out of paradise.
Sin is not merely disobeying God but knowing what is good and what is evil, yet still choosing evil over good. Sin is the rejection of the goodness of God and the embrace of evil. Through this capacity for sin, humankind was denied immortality and bliss under the shadow of God. Sin has been a part of human civilization as far as anyone can remember.
It was sin that caused Cain to murder Abel when God preferred the latter’s offerings. It was sinfulness that forced God to rid the Earth of corruption with the Flood. It was sinfulness that the tower of Babel fell. Sin plays a profound role in the story of humanity.
Yet, despite this fact, many attempts to justify their actions. I am not sinning, they say, but simply stating so does not negate the fact that sin is intrinsically tied to being human. It is the height of impiety and arrogance that one is incapable of sinning when it is natural for humanity to do so.
But this does not mean that everyone is doomed to an eternity of hell, merely that acknowledging sin is the first step to salvation. God is merciful and waits for all His children to repent and accept His plans for them.
Dr. Julius Mosley II
Read more on how to continue forward with God’s plan in Dr. Mosley’s Living Life With Blinders On, a thought-provoking account where his own experiences with near death are examined, serving as a warning of what life may be without the guiding presence of the Lord.
Oliver’s Twist 