"Man's Basic Purpose"

"To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;" (Psalms 102:21)
As much as I would like to take some of the credit, it's really something that surprises me as much as it might anyone else; I just follow the flow, if you know what I mean. Although we might lack what it takes to obey God's Word in the here and now, that will not be the case once we are all gathered together in heaven. God will seal His Word upon us, and we will be naturally obedient. I know that this is very touchy, but as I have said before, the garden of Eden was not a perfect place before the fall. Sure it was good, and it was a place for man to enjoy all the great things that God had created; but with that one tree in the midst of the garden, it lacked total freedom; there was always that one thing which was always tugging at Adam's desire, "Should I, or shouldn't I?" Not quite sure how long it was before Eve was created from Adam; but it was long enough for Adam to name all the animals. There is many different ways that it could have played out, but I am pretty sure that Eve was played by both Adam and the Serpent. Regardless, I still stick by the fact that God was not surprised by the whole ordeal; in fact, I am pretty sure that God's reaction with a question was not for His benefit, but it was for Adam's. That is the basic message I am getting from this verse, in a twisted sort of way. It is pretty much about what was and what is to come; we were this, but we will be that; things once were not perfect, but one day all will be perfect! I heard a statement from Pastor Mike the other day about what made Satan jealous of man, that it was not what man was created like, but what man would become in the end; man was created a little lower than the angels, but he would be elevated above the angels. Maybe the devil misunderstood the whole reason that this would all take place; because if he actually knew, then the death of Jesus on the cross would have scared him to death. Hey, there is the ticket; the cross is another way to describe what a twisted sort of message this has become; because the horror of the death of Jesus upon the cross, was beautiful in God's sight; as twisted as that might sound. I guess if it was the plan from the beginning, then it all looks different from God's perspective. I bet this big mess looks different also. Maybe to God, it's really not such a big mess, but it is just part of the transformation. Just saying...
"I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence." (Ephesians 3:9-12) NLT