LONG-SUFFERING

Atheists say they want proof of God’s existence, but they can’t disprove God exists. They don’t believe the Bible is reliable, but they can’t explain why the Bible is the only manuscript that’s been copied many more thousands of times than any other written document in human history. Unbelievers want to know why God would allow evil and pain and suffering, but their rebuttal only attempts invalidate the purpose behind the pain it takes to acquire wisdom from understanding the humility one must have to cultivate trust in God from withstanding the trials of this life. Read that last sentence again; it’s a thick one, and it’s important (reference James 1:2-4).

SEEK THE LORD WITH ALL YOU ARE

We have to be spiritually blind not to see that the meaning of this life is beyond our flesh. It’s not “find what you’re passionate about,” it’s, “answer the knock of Jesus at your door, let Him in, and spend time with Him.” (In reference to Revelation 3:20) Because no matter what worldly-related ‘passion’ we might have, without Jesus as the Lord over it, it’s not going to fix the part of our lives that we think discovering what our passion is might resolve. It won’t. If it did, why are there miserable millionaires? Why are there rich people killing themselves? How have there been homeless people who are wiser than men wearing suits? Because unless you seek God, you won’t find anything meaningful in the first place.

Amen?

This life isn’t about relaxation, taking enough vacations, finding the perfect home/relationship/career, it’s about none of that. If that’s all that mattered, there’d be a much healthier society in the world today. But clearly that’s not the case.

ALTRUISM… WITHOUT GOD?

By definition, agnostics don’t know what they believe, and the safest voice for many questioning unbelievers is unfortunately not searched for in the Bible. Rather, the substitute answer is most commonly found in the seemingly innocuous invitation to self-created purpose, using the backdrop of altruism and selflessness.

What follows this train of foundation-less belief is susceptibility to false prophets who twist God’s Word, who make it seem clear that being altruistic or selfless doesn’t require belief in God. The result is the agnostic thinks they have the answer (which typically is: “Just be a good person and don’t let anyone take away your freedom to choose who you want to be”), which seems to end the search for an answer… however, their life is still meaningless because they are still serving themselves, which is tantamount to hedonism at best. Even if they donated millions of dollars to causes, but they don’t believe in Jesus, then the legacy of that life is that they donated all that money under the pretense of belief that their choice to be generous made them a good person. But really, not knowing what else to do with money isn’t a legacy.

“INTRINSIC GOODNESS”

What is sad is we don’t allow the truth from our mouthes that the “good” we believe we do or are is actually instilled in us by God. Lots of people think their goodness comes from deep within, like some intrinsic part of their human makeup. But they again refuse to admit that that “intrinsic goodness” was put there by, in fact, God.

Bottom line is, we want all the credit without comprehending the only reason we want that credit is to disprove that there must be a good, loving God in existence. But it’s a vacuous argument at best, because without God there would be no logical reason to give money away in the first place, no rational understanding of how intrinsic goodness even exists, and no backdrop of morality to defend altruism, because morality itself has no objective foundation without a sentient God.

JOY, AND EMANATING GOD’S GLORY

Humans who don’t believe in God have the idea that living on Earth is all there is, so we must enjoy it. We must eat good food, travel, enjoy the presence of fun and intelligent people and work hard so we can experience what it means to have lived fully. But that isn’t the definition of living fully, not even close. The only way to live fully is to live from inside our souls, outward—or in other words, to emanate glory—and there is no glory without God; without the resurrected Christ.

We don’t serve any meaningful purpose in this life by trying to do as much as possible in the short stint we have here, because that isn’t God’s blueprint for a meaningful or purposeful life. We are meant to enjoy HIM and the creation He made for us, but we aren’t meant to ignore Him. We’re meant to live from a state of gratitude and joy for the freedom given to us in Christ. Guess what, joy is an attitude! It means you have to choose it! We don’t get joyful by accident. It’s not like the high we get from eating ice cream or kissing our spouses. Joy is an experience you have when you decide that’s what you’re going to be. And what must we do to galvanize ourselves into joy? Find Jesus, who is the joy of all life (John 15:11).

GETTING READY FOR WHAT’S COMING

Do we know why life is short? Because this planet is a fallen one. Sin, corruption, sickness and disease, war, famine and poverty. There’s death on this planet, and suffering. Life isn’t sustainable here. It was, but it isn’t anymore. But we aren’t meant to survive here! We are meant to find our lives in Christ, live for Him, and then one day be with Him forever in Heaven, a place that is without death, sin, or suffering. That’s why our physical life here doesn’t matter other than to live for Christ. It’s not about salaries or the marriages or the worldly legacies. It’s all about the soul becoming ready for Heaven. This world isn’t ready for it, there are many lost souls who don’t understand the power of faith in Jesus Christ.

WISDOM, REGRET, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT CHOICE

Life catches up to us all, eventually. In the moment, it’s easy to take things for granted, to take people for granted. It’s easy to get caught up in our feelings and forget to be patient, present, and aware. Suddenly time flies and we wonder why we made such unwise decisions in our lives, and look back realizing that life is so much shorter than we anticipated. We feel older, friends die, there’s aching in our body, there’s change in the world around us that we don’t like. Life feels different, and we remember all the choices we made when we made them, and wisdom hits: We would have chosen differently if we could go back.

The question is: do we live in that regret, or do we use it to come alive now, in Christ? Do we tell ourselves there’s no way back, so there’s no way forward? Or do we take the Bible and commit ourselves to following Christ during the time we have left? Whether we’re 25, or 105, life is still happening right now. But we might not be here tonight. Life could be over and we don’t have control over that. We only have control over what we choose to believe, and to live based on that belief. If you’re an unbeliever and you’re reading this, what is it that’s causing you not to believe in Jesus as Lord? Do you understand the weight of the decision to say no to Christ? Would you rather know more about that decision before you walk away from the door that Jesus is clearly knocking on? He won’t kick the door in. But if you don’t answer, thinking about maybe doing it later, there may not be a later.

ANSWER THE KNOCK

There are many people in this world who don’t have the answer, but instead of searching for the right answer, they settle for one that makes them feel good about the type of life they’d like to have for themselves. That is called living a sinful life, in ignorance. The only life there is, is in Jesus Christ. There is no other way to God except through Jesus, as Lord—not as a nice Jewish rabbi (John 14:6). Seeking answers from this world will only place us in further darkness, further sin and further meaninglessness. Jesus Christ is the only name that brings life, light, and meaning. His way is the only way. Please, if you’re reading this, don’t take it lightly. Jesus is patient, and He won’t force you to choose Him. It just begs the question, why not pick up your cross and follow Him? Is it because you don’t understand the Bible? Why not find a church pastor and ask some serious questions to get to the root of your hesitation? Why not say yes to Jesus and take the chance to trust in Him? He never led anyone astray in the Bible, and He’s never led anyone astray since.

THE ONLY SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM

Whoever you are, whatever you’re going through, Jesus is the only answer for every problem. The Bible has everything we need to make it through until His return on the clouds of Heaven. I pray you would choose Him, confess your sins, repent of your old life, and be born again. Be made new, and never look back except to remember how God has blessed you.

I ask this in the name of Jesus, amen.

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash