Feb 22, 2017
By Katy Elliott
Alfred Station SDB Church
A remarkable trait among humans across the globe is a searching, curious nature. While the questions they ask vary as greatly as the people who ask them, there is always one common question that haunts every individual: “Why are we here?…What is the purpose of life?” Sadly, there are many who go through their entire lives searching and never finding the answer because of where they tried to find it. There are people who think that the purpose of life is to find your own purpose — to find whatever makes you happy and do that for as long as you can. They think they will find the answer if they just look into themselves deep enough. However, the problem with this idea is that people are rarely satisfied, and they will never find the answer inside themselves. You never find the instructions to a device inside the machine itself; you have to consult with the inventor. So when circumstances go awry (as they often do) this sense of purpose dissipates. Some people look for meaning in things. They think that the meaning of life is to be wealthy and successful and to have everything that they could ever want. They think that this will bring them satisfaction or happiness. I have seen bumper stickers that say things like “He who dies with the most toys wins.” This is a tragic philosophy to uphold because it will always end in emptiness — and so far away from the reason why we are here. I have always wondered, what do they think they will “win”? What sort of good comes out of focusing all of your energy on obtaining things that you can’t keep? Jim
Elliot once said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” These words are very true, but how many people have this idea backwards? They give what they cannot lose (their eternity in heaven) to gain what they cannot keep (possessions). So many people waste their entire lives collecting things that they won’t be able to take with them when they die.
Every person on this planet has an infinite chasm in his soul that can only be filled by the infinite God of the universe. So many people are trying to fill the holes in their hearts with things — but as they try to fill their hearts, all they feel is the physical thing bouncing off the sides of infinity that can only be filled by God. God is knocking at everyone’s heart’s door asking to be let in, but so many people cannot hear over the television or white noise of their own busyness. We are in a world of so many distractions that make us comfortable. We don’t think about how uncomfortable we are with the creeping suspicion that we are missing the most important thing of all — the one thing that can save us — that person is God. We find our purpose in the almighty creator of the world. Without God, there is no meaning in life. If there were no God, then our lives, and the very concept of life itself would be nothing more than a messy collage of violence and chaos.
Thank God this is not the world that we live in. We find our purpose in God, the only answer to the question that so many ask. God understands us perfectly. This is an incredible mystery to ponder. The Lord of the entire universe wants to have a relationship with you, and already understands things about you that you haven’t even learned yet. Even the hairs on your head are numbered. Everything about who you are was planned, even those things that you might regard as flaws. Every intricate strand of your DNA was put together lovingly by the same One who made the stars. God purposefully placed the empty space in all of our hearts that can only be filled by Him so that we would seek Him. Our purpose in life is to know Him. God created us with the intention that we would have a relationship with Him. The Creator wants to have a
relationship with the created. God loves us when we feel like He is not even listening. We can know God, and our purpose in life is to follow Him. And because we know this, we cannot keep it to ourselves! There are still so many people who are searching and thirsting for the truth about why we are here. We, as Christians, are called to spread the news about what Christ did for us. This is our calling — to help others who are searching, find. We are each called to do this in very unique ways. Maybe we are meant to travel the world and preach the gospel; or maybe we are simply meant to live in a way that preaches the gospel. When those who are searching see us, and see the inexplicable love that we have, and the peace that passes all reasonable understanding, they will wonder, “What is the reason for their joy?” We will be able to answer “Jesus.”