As human beings we often wonder what the significance of life really is
Why am I here and what is my purpose?
These are the kinds of questions that arise in any thoughtful person’s mind from time to time. On occasion, such questions become acute – upon the death of a loved one or a cancer diagnosis or even something positive like the birth of a child. But where can we go to find the answers to such probing questions? Is there any authority to which we can turn with confidence to discover truth by which we can live?
There is one book which claims to be a word from God and to which countless individuals have turned down through history. It is the Bible and it tells us the compelling story of a unique man who claimed to be God himself come in human form to reveal God to us. His name was Jesus Christ. His story is unlike any other human being in history. He lived a life of such goodness that he made all others look bad by comparison. It is not surprising that he evoked the jealousy of the religious authorities of his day. Those religious authorities conspired with the political powers to condemn him as a criminal and crucify him. But these developments did not take God by surprise. In fact they had been predicted long before in the writings of the prophets and actually served God’s larger purposes (Acts 2:22-23). His self-sacrifice was motivated by compassion for us.
The Bible tells us that our sense of disorientation in the world is due to the fact that we have become alienated from the God who made us and designed us for His purposes. The first human pair revolted from God and chose to ignore their own Maker. Their act reverberated down through history in each one of us who is born with a desire to be our own god – to do our own will apart from God. The Bible calls this sin and it not only constitutes treason against our rightful Lord but it alienates us from the One who is the only source of meaning and purpose. Therefore, according to the Bible, we all are sinners, both by nature and by choice and have fallen short of the standard of God’s law (Rom 3:23).
The righteousness of God demands that sinners receive justice but His love and mercy seek reconciliation. In the cross of Christ, God’s justice and mercy meet. Christ, the only perfectly righteous person to ever live, died the death we deserve in our place so that God’s righteousness might be granted to us freely (II Corinthians 5:21). As the prophet Isaiah put it, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) On the third day he rose from the grave conquering death forever and offering eternal life. A complete pardon is granted to anyone if we simply acknowledge our sin and trust in Christ as the only remedy.
This pardon is available to all freely. We cannot earn God’s favor but must receive it as a gift from Him (Eph 2:8-9). To those who do receive this gift, God sends His very Spirit into their hearts to begin to transform them into His image. Furthermore, he grants them an eternal destiny in which they will share in the glory of the risen Christ.
If you have never considered your standing before the God who made you, there is no better time than now to yield to Him in faith and experience His renewing touch on your life. If you have any questions, I would be happy to discuss it with you.