Introduction:
We
are living in a world that changes every day. It’s not only external things but
also internal things. There is no set of standards that is constant, and we are
more likely for changes without considering things with the whole of heart and
mind. Even the Values and Laws change continuously according to our social,
cultural, economic influences. There aren’t many good role models among the
people around with whom we are related, in whom we could read the reality to
follow things for content and joyful life. There is a vacuum in all of us,
which some superior personality with valuable standards, alone could fill. The
real creator alone can define the function and purpose of the Creation with
clear standards.
The
uniqueness of human beings:
All of us have a different family background,
financial background, social background, cultural background, educational
background, etc. that makes us unique in our interests and characteristics.
God
created every human being in his own image to relate with Him and relate with
one another. Every human being has the ‘Freedom of Choice’ called Free Will, as
it is one such attribute of God Himself and we have got it because we are in
His image.
All
humans are unique in the sight of God, with our different tastes, talents,
beliefs, problems, thoughts, actions, and so on. But everything we think, we do
and we experience, that is different or similar doesn’t help us to be content
and attain Joy in our life.
It’s
undeniable that there is a consequence for everything around us which can be
positive as well as negative. God had designed human beings in his image to
relate with Him, being ever loving; as well as he had designed human beings
with free will to choose using their intellect and emotions, being ever
righteous. He is not unfair towards human beings to compel them to follow some
instructions that He wants them, neither He is not unfair to compel them to
believe and follow His words blindly. God gives the choice to man by giving
them all the opportunities around.
Human
Condition:
The belief of God can be of knowledge, emotion, experience, intellect, and various
other things. It depends on the individual persons and the work of God
specifically. Besides the variations in all the people who believe in God, the
perfect belief c
\\an be only possible with the knowledge about Lord and savior
Christ. That's why the people of other faith (even Jesus who doesn't belong to
the bible) don't enjoy the love and relation of their god and they just follow
their god due to various reasons such as fear, traditions, blessings, strength,
morality, passion and so on. They miss out the important factor of truth and
are trying to please & strengthen themselves with their non-factual
beliefs and some suffer continuously from the evilness of evil intentions in
them.
The
LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man,
for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth’ (Gen 8:
21).
Limitations
of Human Being:
We all have some preconceived ideas about many
things around us because of the influence of our own environments which may or
may not be realistic and really satisfactory. In order to break down the
influences and differences, everyone needs some standard values in our lives
that could be given only by a Superior Personality, the Creator. In order to
live an orderly life without chaos and bias, we need to really know how the
Almighty wants our lives to be.
The
need is only one thing and a good part, which shall not be taken away, that is
Jesus and his Words (Luke 10:38-42).
Most
of the people claim that they can live an acceptable and good life on earth
without God and don’t care about things happening afterlife. Even neglecting
the life or happenings after death, we are always dependent on the earth and
need some standards that are universally accepted which could not be given by
any finite man. The best standards for different situations of life can only be
sought and got through the Word of God, the creator. As the manufacturer alone
could define the functioning and purpose of the machine to the maximum, the
Word of God that is valuable and true alone could define the purpose for human
beings. We face the consequences for everything we accept or deny, first at present
which can be visualized and later in the future which will be revealed.
Vanity
of things, lacking completeness:
The man had tried to show himself powerful by crushing the weak, show himself high
by trying to reach heaven, show himself creatively by making gods for himself,
show himself rich by multiplying wealth and livestock, and show himself happy
by gratifying temporarily through the unnatural desires. But in all of it,
there was, is, and will be a failure without Godly values. Even if the person does
good but without God in life, the person will not be content and feel
meaningful at the end, as the things or people involved around the person may
not be felt worthy for the person, to receive his good deeds at least at some
point in time.
A person who is a king and who had enjoyed all the pleasures, positions,
properties, and disclosures writes that “All is vanity and what does man gain by
all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (Ecc 1:2, 3).
Once
a person achieves his dreams and fulfills all his passions, he is happy about
it, as everyone praises. But after that, again the person sets up his Goal at a
different plane or different dimension and continues it as a habit. If we
analyze carefully, something similar happens with a normal person who dreams
but doesn’t put any effort/ hard work to chase it and settles down in whatever
comes on his way. He lives his life with a routine of eating, drinking,
sleeping, and so on without any achievements, still enjoying his life happily
with whatever he has. If it is the greatest person with the greatest mind or
the least person with less mental power and Even if it is the richest person or
a pauper, one day every one of us has to see the grave. Still, some people say
and think that if they live the richest life being an emperor or being a
legend, people will remember their name for a longer time. But what does that
account to a person personally after his demise, (s) he will be knowing nothing
and would haven’t found the real Joy at the end of his own life when it’s just for
others admiration.
Need
of God:
Relationship
with God is essential for every person to know the Purpose of life, as the world has its beginning from God and human beings come into existence only from
God, though there are many theories and ideologies. Only when we live
according to the Word of God, we could find a life of Joy, Peace, and
contentment, in the midst of suffering and obstacles too. Also, only when we
depend on God and remember his majesty and sovereignty by praying to him and praising
him, we would be able to face and overcome the situations of the world in the best way, acknowledging that nothing is more for God that overcomes us. The
solution for everything in the world lies only with the source of everything in
the world. Hearing from God and Speaking to God helps us to enjoy all the
things of the world that the Lord has made, by discerning between Right and
wrong, as well as balance everything around us knowing the purpose of God in
everything.
“For
Everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received
with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the WORD OF GOD AND
PRAYER. – 1Timothy 4:4, 5"
Solution
for mankind through Jesus Christ
Human
searches and failures provided no hope to see the life in its worth because of
the sinful nature and deviation of man from the greater purpose for which God
created human beings and everything else in the world. But Christ had been
proclaimed from ages as a hope of deliverance, to make the crooked paths
straight. The people who believed, believe and will believe in the redemptive
work of Christ on the cross for the reconciliation of human beings with God,
get restoration from the big gap between God and human beings, because of the
wrong choices of human beings.
John
3:16-21 says "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life". For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes
in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this
is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the
darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone
who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his
works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light,
so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in
God.”
Defining
Life in God:
God is loving and caring. He has a bigger purpose
for human beings. He is all-powerful to provide all our needs and help us in
our weaknesses, there is no need to worry about even the basic needs when we
trust him. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent and we can
rely on Him for all our physical, emotional, and intellectual problems, and be
part of His bigger purpose for us. God is righteous, forgiving, and concerned,
and we should stand for what is right, confess the mistakes and be delivered or
gain strength to face the consequences of our actions, to escape from the
punishment.
God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1: 26).
The
greatest commandment given in the bible is “Love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and
great commandment. And the second is like, unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. On the two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40).
Joyfulness
that last forever:
There
is always happiness in the pleasures that God had allowed mankind to enjoy in
the earth, but the lasting Joy could be possible only by defining life in the
way God had purposed. When a person tries to find joy without realizing God and
His purpose, even temporary happiness would become bitter after a point of
time. A man who had enjoyed all the power, position, pleasure, prosperity says
to his recipients about being happy in the face of the earth as follows,
“What
does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labor’s
under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night, his mind
does not rest. This too is meaningless. A man can do nothing better than to eat
and drink and find satisfaction in his work” - Eccl 2:22-24
But
real Satisfaction and Joy is more than what we experience just with the
physical, emotional or intellectual aspect but using all of it together in
balance, with the Spiritual aspect that could be possible only with the
knowledge of True God.
All
who did receive Jesus, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become
children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh
nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1: 12, 13).
The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5: 22).
Refining
the Self through Word of God:
We
have many things to do in our lives but everything needs not to be appropriate
and beneficial. The material things are needed for surviving, but most of the
time we prioritize it first without realizing that it doesn’t make our survival
but just helps in surviving. Most of the times we are too much focused on the
self and don’t think about things we do that affect others. Prioritizing things
based on the Bible and higher values of life will help a person to seek the
good of the neighbor, not seeking for the own (Philippians 2:3) as a believer
and disciple of Christ, also without affecting the faith of new believer (1
Corinthians 10:23-33), which helps to be selfless too. Relying on God by giving
Him foremost priority and center place can change our hearts and transform
life.
Reading, understanding, and following the Word of
God could help us know and taste the right path of life. God speaks to us
through the sounds, signs, symbols, situations, thoughts, etc., but we need to
recheck it with the scriptures as He is unchanging and never contradicts what
He has said in the scriptures through the circumstances and teachings in the
bible, and all other things can be manipulated. The best way to hear from the
Lord is through the Scriptures and the values inscribed in it. Hearing from God
helps us to know about God, to know about ourselves, to know what we are supposed
to be, and to know what we are supposed to do. The values are so much
approachable to our lives in the appropriate situations that we can really
confirm hearing from God by experiencing it.
The Attributes of God that are in the Bible is much
satisfactory, the commandments are the real light to all our walks, the
promises are the greatest hope of restoration and peace, the sins to avoid with
examples are much practical and approach to real life.
Conclusion:
God
alone had created something out of nothing and God is the source of everything.
Whatever God had created is good and man is the special creation of God as he
was made in God’s own image. God has a greater purpose for man to rule over the
world but disobedience caused a great gap in the relationship with God. Though
God sealed the mistake, man’s evilness had great limits that he was guilty. The
man searched for happiness through all means but couldn’t find the permanent
solution. Christ came for all the human beings to live an exemplary life, and as
a sacrifice for the sins of all, to take away the guilt. We ought to know God
and know the self by renewing day by day, in order to find the real meaning and
purpose of life on this earth.
A man (Mostly King Solomon) who enjoyed
all the treasures, pleasures and disclosures says this,
“Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole [duty] of man.” - Ecclesiastes 12:13
Though
environmental situations influence our decisions, God is in control when we
believe Him. As we start growing in the Lord, God gives strength to stand for
our decisions, at whatever cost to pay. There may be a lot of struggles to face
within us and outside us, but there is Joy and peace with contentment when we
find it, through a path with much patience and guidance from God.
Accepting, Believing, and Committing to Christ
aright helps us to be Delivered; to live an Exemplary life free from the Flaws
and Greediness, with Honor, Integrity, Justice, Kindness, Love, Meekness,
Nobility, Openness, and Patience; being Qualitative in Reproach, Serving,
Temperament, Utility, Value, and Work, as Xenial of Yenning in Zeal.
Self-Reflection:
1. My uniqueness and Identity?
2. My
Conditions at present and limitations?
3. My
feelings and thoughts about vanity in things lacking completeness?
4. My
need for God and Definition of Life in God?
5. My decisions to make life much more
meaningful?
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