Have you ever wondered what the meaning of life is? Why are you even here? Why do you struggle from one day to the next?
If you haven’t heard the story about Adam and Eve, then it’s no surprise. If you have, and you don’t believe it’s actually true, there is your problem.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:26-28
After the fall of Adam and Eve, Genesis 3:8 says And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
When the first man and woman were created they spent time with God in person! He literally breathed life into Adam. God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit gave us life. So when the original sin occurred, it pushed us apart. We were ashamed to be in God’s presence, because He is Holy. And the more our ancestors and ourselves have sinned, the further away many of us have gotten from God, to the point, many question His existence. And because of that, many even question their own existence, their own worth, their own purpose or meaning in life.
You were created to have a relationship with God. Nothing has changed in that respect. What has changed is that sin and evil has gotten in the way. Even if you’re a good person who has tried to do good, you’re still a sinner, just as we all are. But a huge difference between someone who has put Jesus at the forefront of their life and repented of their sins and someone who hasn’t, is the ‘saved person’, no longer has that burden of guilt and death hanging around their neck like a millstone. They’ve been set free. That’s why some people seem ridiculously happy. They’re not crazy. They’re simply not suffering from the mortal burden that they used to carry. They made a choice. And with that, they also found the meaning of life.
At the age of 27, I learned that life was all about relationships, but at the time I was looking at it from a worldly perspective, so I was missing part of the equation. All the relationships in our life (good or bad) shape who we are now and who we will become. I got part of my conclusion right, but for it to have real meaning and purpose, I had a long way to figure out that the most important relationship of all, I was missing: the relationship with God through his son, Jesus.
People talk about being indoctrinated by religion. But have you ever considered about how you’re indoctrinated by society? Grow up, get an education, go to college, get a good job, get married (or don’t), have children (or don’t). There’s an expectation to be something specific in your life and you have to follow this formula, more or less, or you won’t make it to that car, house and solid future (that’s completely temporary and can disappear the moment you have a major medical issue!). So, when people find for some reason that they don’t measure up in the world of today, or something happens in their life that throws that all in a downward spiral, it’s absolutely crushing. But God’s not usually part of those worldly expectations.
God has a purpose in your life and you weren’t born just to grow old and die! God has a plan and purpose for you and He even has gifts for you (you may already know what they are, but maybe you don’t and they’re yet to be revealed by the Holy Spirit). But life will have no purpose or true meaning unless you’re living with Him as Lord.
Unless you start to form a relationship with Him, whatever you do in this life will be completely meaningless in the next. And you can only reach God through his Son, Jesus Christ.
What kind of cruel universe would make you suffer, only to die and it’s all for nothing? Not God of all creation. That’s for sure!
Time to take a step of faith? If you’ve lost virtually all hope, what on earth do you have to lose? Nothing. What in Heaven might you hope to lose? Do you really want to find out?
Seek Him with all your heart, while he may still be found (see Isaiah 55:6) and you will not only find the most important relationship of all. You will discover the meaning of your life and as you get to know God, you will discover His purpose for you and you will no longer fear death, but you will no longer seek it either. You will seek how you can make a difference in the life you have left!
