What are you Living for?

That is a big question.  One that many people never ask themselves, to their own detriment.  We think about our day-to-day activities and make plans for how we are going to pay the rent, what errands need to be done, or what movie we want to see, but do we ask the bigger question?  If we miss it here, we miss the ultimate meaning for our lives.

So why are we here anyway?  With all of the talk about the value of human life, we cannot neglect to reflect on why human life has such value, even at the earliest stages.

What is True Life?

To help us answer the question, “Why are we here,” it is helpful to first ask what is true life?  Knowing the meaning of life brings purpose.  Many people feel the goal of a happy and fulfilled life is to attain the possessions they have always wanted, have happy family lives and avoid as much heartache and pain as possible in the process. 

Although these things are good (to a certain degree), they are merely counterfeits for the greatest satisfaction we can have in this life, which I will address in a moment. 

How can we Know the Meaning of Life?

 Maybe you have never really taken the Bible seriously.  I’m sure you have wondered, as many have, if the Bible is truly from God.  The Bible is an amazing book.  It demands our attention.  There is concrete evidence pointing to the Bible as a very credible source, through which God Himself speaks to people. 

No fortuneteller could ever hope to keep up with the great number of prophesies in the Bible that have been fulfilled with shocking precision! (See the links below for more information)

If the Bible were put on trial, it would be found to be true not only on the basis of fulfilled prophesy, but also on many other grounds. 

One of the strongest testimonies that the Bible is true is its foretelling and recitation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  If you take time to look at what the Bible has to say about that and look at the evidence supporting it with an open mind, it would be unlikely that you would come to any conclusion other than that Jesus rose from the dead, that the Bible foretold it, and it is truly from God. (See  http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=580 for some exact prophecies only Jesus Christ fulfilled while on earth.)

The lives of the apostles also testify of the truth of the resurrection.  They gave up their very lives and were martyred because of their unfailing belief in the resurrection of Christ.  Although they fled when Jesus was arrested and crucified, shortly after Jesus’ death they were suddenly willing to die in order to share the truth of His resurrection.  What happened after the crucifixion to make these apostles come out of hiding?  They actually saw the risen Christ!

There are many other reasons to believe the Bible, but it is a good idea to just begin reading in the book of John in the New Testament.  Read Jesus’ words for yourself.  See if something doesn’t rise up in you saying, “This Man was like no other!”  His wisdom will astound you!  

If you would like to look into some exact prophecies in the Bible that have been fulfilled, please visit www.100prophecies.org.  For intriguing evidence of prophesies fulfilled regarding science, archeology, etc., please visit www.christiananswers.net.

The Greatest Satisfaction

The Bible states over and over that God created us to know Him (as well as humans can know Him in this life) and to enjoy loving Him and serving Him.  God Himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ, is to be our Greatest Satisfaction in this life, our supreme Treasure (“Oh God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, My flesh yearns for You…” Psalm 63:1).  For more on this topic we highly recommend “Desiring God”, written by John Piper.

But how can we, as sinful humans (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 2:23), be accepted by a holy, blameless, perfect, all-knowing, ever-present, all-powerful God?  Even if we seem to be “better than a lot of people we know,” deep down we all know that we have not lived as we should and that we are separated from God.  But God the Father made a way for us to be joined to Him, as we should be. 

As a just Judge, He must judge our sin, which means being cast from His presence into hell. (“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28) NO ONE wants to end up in hell.  And contrary to popular belief, hell is not reserved solely for serial killers and child molesters.  Just as Adam and Eve sinned once and were cast out of the Garden of Eden, just one sin is enough to send us to hell.  This may strike you as harsh, but that is how repulsive our sin is to God who is perfectly holy and sinless.

Here’s the good news.  You don’t have to gain points with God by earning your salvation through a laundry list of good deeds.  The Father sent His Son, Jesus, into this world to live a perfect life and be sacrificed for our sins so that all who simply believe in Him will be saved from hell and be able to be united with their Creator.  (“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8)

Let’s make one thing very clear:  Believing in Him doesn’t mean just believing that He exists.  Even the devil believes that! (“You believe that God is one.  You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” James 2:19) Rather, it means turning to Him, asking forgiveness for your sins, and choosing to live for Him, and not for yourself, the rest of your life. 

We learn how to do that by reading the Bible, going to a good Bible-believing church, praying and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  God sends His Spirit to live inside of you once you turn your life over to Jesus, in order to help guide you through life. (“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” John 14:16)

The long and the short of it is this; God made us to know Him, love Him and serve Him.  There you have it!  Now you know the greatest mystery of life!  So what will you do? 

Here’s my advice: give up on living for yourself and live for God.  He loves you and wants to break down the wall of separation between you and Him.  Surrender to Jesus today.  Live for what you were made for.