What's The Point?

Have you ever wondered why we are here? No, not the monkey stuff, but really … how did we come here and is there any meaning or purpose for life? What happens after death? Is there really a source of truth that can be trusted?  Oh boy, that’s a lot of things to figure out. Well, if you are curious, here is something to think about—information comes from intelligence and we see intelligence in everything we see, touch or hear. Our DNA, order in the universe, repeated weather patterns, stages of seed to harvest, reproduction, birth, etc.—everything needs logic, perfect execution and consistency for it to work.  Here is a thought … let’s just suppose that if there is a God who made us, then He must have had a purpose for doing so and would be the One who set these things in motion. Let’s see if the Bible has anything to say about this. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The famous scientist Sir Isaac Newton—who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time and seen as a key figure in the scientific revolution—said, “When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance.” You see, all around you the delicate balance in nature, the unseen reality such as the conscience, intuition, motive etc. could not have come by random chemical processes, no matter how long you wait.  Ok, so if God made us, why are we here and why do we have all this suffering? Let’s look further. We read that when God made us, it was very good. “God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). So what happened? God gave one commandment to the first man and woman who lived in perfection with God, having no pain or suffering. God’s commandment was “Don’t play God and become the person who defines good” (the same could be said about the matter of defining truth, morality, sexuality etc. but for this topic we will stay with the matter of “good”). Adam chose to disobey God with Eve and they both found out that apart from God’s standard of good, what they chose had some pretty bad consequences. To start with, everyone decides what’s “good” according to them. Hmm … that’s sounds ok maybe? You know … we get to define “good”? But wait, that would be a problem since what I think as “good” for me may not be “good” for you. For example, Hitler thought what he did for the German people was “good” and plunged the world into war, resulting in the death of about 82 million people. What is the measure a person can use to define “good”? He needs to have a better standard than himself to compare against since obviously his standard is skewed. Well that standard is God, but never mind, we rejected Him. So where are we? Just look around and you can see the problems we have—racism, death, crimes against children, hate, genocide, suffering, sickness, divorce, pain, natural disasters and on and on it goes. Even the so-called “good” we try to do, and the laws we pass, are imperfect because they are the work of people who are flawed. Man decided what is “good” and left God out who is rightfully able to be the proper authority on what “good” is, and that brings us to today to your life. Wait … this is getting personal but read on. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). So because we have chosen to define “good”, the mess we are in is not because of God but because of our disobedience to God and the consequences that followed. You get the point … This sounds like a downward spiral. Yes. Do you know that when you lie, you break God’s law that says “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16). Thus God rightly states that “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Why? because all of us have broken God’s law. Since this is true, there is a punishment (payment) for that crime (sin). You expect an honest judge to punish a convicted criminal, right? Well, reality check: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Hmm … so that’s where death came from. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). So we don’t just decompose when we die or come back in reincarnation. Rather, we are condemned to pay for our sins in a place of torment called the lake of fire forever. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Where do we go from here? Is there no hope? 2000 years ago, God came as man incarnate in the form of Jesus Christ—God with us. He was prophesied about before His birth, and fulfilled over 350 prophecies. Some of them were written 1000’s of years prior and proved that He was God in the flesh by what He spoke and did. You can read more about His life in the gospel of John. Since your sin had a penalty you owed and you had no hope of paying it on your own (other than being condemned forever), someone else who has never sinned had to pay for it on your behalf. Jesus Christ was that innocent sacrifice, who paid for your sin on the cross when He died. He proved that He was able to conquer the wages of sin (death) by rising again from the dead on the third day, with many infallible proofs that He was indeed bodily risen from the dead. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Ok, so now what? Since He died for your sin, it is personal, and it is for you. In the beginning we talked about if there is a God—yes there is a God who loves you and died for you. God is infinitely holy and without sin and we are exceedingly sinful and have no hope of approaching the perfection of God by our own efforts or “good” works. Remember what we saw already, that our “good” is not really that good. In God’s eyes “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). If you realize in your heart the reality of God and the truth that Jesus is God and that He is the hope for your sin, and if you are willing to turn from your sin (repent) which has separated you from God and run to Him (faith) and call upon Him (believe), He WILL save you. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). The sinner in the Scriptures cried, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13), and God was merciful. Dear friend, there is a purpose for life. You can have victory over sin. There is a reason why we are here—there is life after death and there is a loving Creator God who made you for Himself, that you might know Him. Christ did not come to form a religion. Rather, He came to restore the relationship that was lost because of your sin. Religion is man-made but Jesus came for all of mankind no matter where they are, how they look or what they believe or do not believe. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). Would you seek Him while He may be found? Call upon Him until He saves you and gives you the assurance by His Holy Spirit that your sins have been forgiven and you are God’s child. Read the gospel of John if you need to learn more about why Jesus came.