Life without a ‘God-purpose’ is empty and futile. It is merely an existence, a survival in the raging sea of a world engrossed only in it’s self. Even if you are wealthy beyond belief and have succeeded in life where others have failed, at the end, all you have done is to accumulate possessions that you cannot take with you. You have filled your life with pleasures and entertainments that utterly failed to assure you of your true purpose and eternal security.
When I talk of a ‘God-purpose’, I refer to the deep cry of the heart for meaning and reason to our being here. We are made for the glory and enjoyment of our Creator and are called to love Him and serve Him with all of our hearts and souls and minds. But most of us never find him, and most church-goers haven’t a clue what they are talking about.
There is this vacuum within us that can never be satisfied or fulfilled with all the millions of pleasures and interests in the world. It is still not relieved or content even though we may own half a continent and a thousand oil wells.
Man is made for the Creator. He can never escape this. It is His nature. Even though he choose a host of other ‘gods’, whether they be money, entertainment, sports, sex, religion, or power, he will and must worship something or somebody in his lonely quest for spiritual contentment and identity.
Now, he may not accept that he is spiritual or has a spiritual element, but the fact remains that man is made in the image of God - and God is spirit. Therefore man has a spiritual essence, and though it be dead and dark, nonetheless this aspect of our nature still longs for meaning and connection. This is why we have so much interest in the paranormal, the mysterious and dark side of life, in horror movies and the like, and why in every race throughout the world there will always be found religion, voodoo, magic and clairvoyants.
The non-physical essence of man longs to be connected to something that will answer the question, ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Why am I here?’
Religion in itself can never make man happy, for ‘religion’ only enslaves its followers into rituals and superstitions that cast heavy burdens and obligations upon its adherents.
Religion will never truly satisfy the deep longings of the heart and certainly will never grant true freedom to the soul of man.
Man was made to worship.
Man was made to worship.
Sitting on a hill, looking out across the sea at the burning sun sinking below the horizon filling the sky with a blaze of unbelievable colours, makes us gasp in awe and amazement at such wonder and beauty. We find it difficult to define or explain the feelings that rush from within us and exclaim, "Wow! Look at that!"
And where do such emotions and senses of delight spring from?
Man was made to worship.
Man was made to worship.
No other creature in this world has this profound ability to seek to apprehend or grasp that which is beyond comprehension. Our spirits yearn to know more, to go deeper and touch that which defies reason or human understanding. We want to believe something, to know that this life with all its twists and turns has some purpose, some relevance apart from just being here, living and then dying.
Religion mesmerizes the masses into a false sense of security, giving them hope that all will be fine in the end. The leaders maintain their ‘power’ over the followers through fear and threats, and through intimidation and exclusion.
And because man by nature must worship something or somebody, (even their football team or their car), they are happy to bow to all the demands and rituals simply to satisfy their need for inclusion and acceptance and identity.
And religion, whatever nature it may be, will always demand full payment for conscription; and further payments to prove loyalty.
If we could but find the Creator and have a talk with him, we would then discover true satisfaction and a knowledge that would cure our sense of lost identity. Imagine being able to sit down with him and find out why he ever bothered to make this world; and perhaps ask him what is going to happen in the end!
It seems to me that in all of nature there are glimpses of the truth of God; and everything in this world has some purpose or reason for being. A flower may contain some amazing medicine for curing a disease, or it may just be there to delight our souls with its sheer beauty. But why?
The universe screams wisdom and the wonders of this planet cry out the majesty and greatness of One who is bigger and more mysterious than we could ever fathom.
The complexity and intricacies of our human bodies defy any theory of chance or evolution. The preciseness of the planetary system baffles the scientists who try to explain away such genius and mathematics with half-concocted suggestions that it just happened by a vague accident, some ‘big bang’ that they can never justify.
This beautiful world with all of its astonishing treasures and beauty bursts with the wisdom of a creator. And man walks through it every day absolutely oblivious to his purpose for being here.
The best he can do is to damage, destroy, pollute and abuse this amazing place which he occupies for just a handful of years, and then return to the dust from which he came.
Everything on earth gives; but man only takes and leaves behind the next generation to continue their selfish and greedy raping of anything and everything in the world. This incredible creation is designed to bless mankind and enrich him in his short quest across its landscape. But what is man, and why would any creator lavish such benefits and goodness upon him?
And indeed, what will man give in return?
And indeed, what will man give in return?
Throughout history there have been ‘prophets’ and seers who have sought to show us the way to the One true Creator and explain to us our reason for being here. Most of them were hated, ignored, laughed at or murdered.
Men would rather live in the darkness of ignorance than have to face the truth, especially when the truth cuts across their self-centred pursuits and selfish ambitions. They would sooner fabricate a lie and deceive themselves, than have to bow their proud and stubborn knees to someone who is supremely greater than them. So they invent their own gods and religions, or decide that there is no God, and show themselves to be less worthy of respect than the illiterate and uneducated peasant who worships his strange looking idol which he made with his own hands.
It is written that only the fool says to himself, ‘There is no God’.
The fact also remains that every single day the whole of this creation shouts out respect and honour to him from every quarter of the globe.
They say that very few animals perished in the South Asian tsunami because they fled to higher ground long before the wave was ever seen. There is much speculation as to why this happened and scientists think that they may have a ‘sixth sense’. Could it not just be possible that the animals heard the Creator’s warning long before the tragedy struck, whilst the humans utterly failed to hear His voice?
We have forgotten our Maker, and like silly sheep have wandered far away from the safety of his care.
'All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.’
‘In times past, God spoke in different ways and through various people, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son Christ Jesus, by whom he also made the worlds.’
Do not harden your heart to his voice, especially when your conscience gets pricked. You may never hear his voice again - and then all is lost.
Do not harden your heart to his voice, especially when your conscience gets pricked. You may never hear his voice again - and then all is lost.
It is time to come back to our Creator, and find our roots, before this world spirals completely out of control.
‘God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son (Jesus) to die on a cross and take our place for our rebellion against him; and whoever believes on him now shall not perish, but have everlasting life.’
'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'
There is no other name given under heaven by which we can be saved and delivered. That name is Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God.
Man was made to worship. But have you yet been really born again?
JM 2018
