Purpose

My next door neighbor passed away last week. He would come into my house and help us fix things. We had him and his wife over for dinner once. I've only had a few limited experiences with death, but when I do it always makes me stop and think about life. I remember writing a poem called "The Blur of Life" when I was in high school. It was after I got home from riding on the bus one day and it was about being on a train and watching all the scenery go by being like watching events go by in life. Often times I tend to feel like an observer riding on a one way train that doesn't stop and eventually though it seems far off is destined to roll off the edge of a cliff. A lot of times I have this underlying urge even passion that I'm supposed to do something meet some purpose yet I don't know what and so I sit there on my train car looking out the window. Sometimes I feel guilty because I want to change the world, but I'm not doing it and then someone says you can't change the world but only the things around you that you encounter in your daily life. I thought wow that's a great thought. It helps me relax a bit realizing I'm not responsible for the whole world, but I only need to try and influence those in my immediate circle that I come into contact with. Then I sit back in my train car chair more relaxed and continue to stare out the window. My point here is that it's really easy to do a whole lot of nothing. It's even possible to start to feel okay about it, sort of... There was a book that came out not long ago called "The Purpose Driven Life" that was very popular for a while. It was written to answer a deep question in the hearts of all men and women. Why am I really here? What is this existence, this life, really for? I mean it seems so futile like somebody put me in a rat race to see what I would do in it, but it's a timed race and before long its game over. A timed deadline is a great motivator. Many games have time limits. Have you ever played a game where you weren't perfectly sure what the rules were or how you could win, but there was most definitely a time limit? This is how one can look at life at times. Sometimes I feel like people get so apauled at death and murder and wars, yet sit idly by hardly giving it a thought as who knows how many millions of people inevitably die each day. Its like the whole world has a terminal illness and no one can live more than 80 to 100 years, yet people just accept it and go on. But then, what else can you do... Well, for starters you can devote what little time you have to figuring out why you're here and what if anything you should spend the time you have doing. Because one thing is for sure... death is coming. People look to something classified as "religion" to answer questions like these. Some people have one idea of what the answers are and others have totally different ideas. This is called faith. Some look at faith and its effects from a scientific approach... i.e. "I'll accept only what I see or can observe and classify scientifically and is commonly accepted in the scientific community" and others look at it from an anti-scientific approach... i.e. focus on one hand clapping, when you understand that, then you will reach nirvana or whatever. Belief is a powerful powerful force. It's like a dark room full of people with various paths they can walk on that have steep drop offs. You grope around trying to find which path to take, but only the one you believe in will you follow. Belief inspires action. Just because one believes in something however, doesn't mean it is the truth. If one is following the path they believe in and it fails them and they fall. It alters their faith in some way if they survive it. If it happens to alter their faith enough they may choose to trust in an entirely different path or maybe to not trust any paths at all. How can one in this situation know how to trust anything? If the person running the dark maze were to turn on all the lights everyone would trust in themselves walk out of the maze and it would be over. But what if the purpose of the maze is to teach the people not to trust in themselves, but rather in the one running the maze. In the Bible God promised Abraham a son which is something he desparately wanted. He promised him a myriad of descendents which was highly prized in that time. Yet God waited until Abraham was very old and Abraham as well as his wife Sarah had some doubts at times, but finally gave them a son. Then in their great joyous moment of receiving their long awaited child, God asks Abraham to sacrifice him! He asks him to kill his son. Why in the world did God do this? To teach the person in the dark dark maze to trust in the person running it. Abraham did trust God and was ready to sacrifice his beloved son reasoning that maybe God would raise him from the dead. The point is not that Abraham understood how it would work out, but rather that he trusted God was able to do all things and could work it out ultimately for Abraham's benefit. He trusted that God had his best interests at heart. When Goliath was belittling the armies of Israel David wanted to face him. His brothers and others mocked him. When he ran to face Goliath a massive giant with a huge sword and helmet and shield and he with only five small stones and a sling the point was not that David thought he was more powerful than Goliath, but rather that he knew he came against Goliath in the authority of the living God. His belief was powerful and his faith moved him to action. He trusted in the one running the maze. Not that he understood or knew the way out, but that he knew the one who did and had a relationship with Him. I say all this to say that I believe the purpose of our lives is to learn to trust the one running the maze. To grow in our strength of belief. To learn how to believe well. David believed well. Abraham believed well. The book of Hebrews teaches us that the most dangerous sin is unbelief. All other sins are offshoots of unbelief. Because when we believe in the power of Christ and the freedom we have in him from sin the sins can fall away.
I can choose to believe in many things and even change those beliefs over time, but in reading the Bible I've seen a picture of faith. I've seen a picture of courageous men putting it all on the line to stand on something they believe in, in the face of ridicule and even seemingly impossible odds and yet make it through victoriously... and it was beautiful to me. It is inspiring, beautiful and has powerful meaning that resonates deep in my soul like a low bass note resonates in a water pipe. It makes me think this is what life is for. To trust deeply in the maker and find that he is trustworthy despite all ridicule. To live courageously and be inspired to action through my faith in Him and find that he is worthy of my trust. This is my life-purpose.

Has it ever occurred to you that almost all movies feature some good courageous hero facing impossible odds, yet somehow triumphing over evil. Many feature a savior and some emphasize the faith of the hero which moved him to action. People throughout time and in our culture today have resonated with ideas presented in the Bible. The Heavens declare His glory. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I've watched the Bethlehem Star movie (get it from http://www.bethlehemstar.net/) recently and it amazes me that the planets and stars were set in motion before time to align at just the right position to mark the coming of our savior Jesus Christ and that we can verify it today with software! :) There are many subtle indicators and many not so subtle ones, but the point is God does not want us to trust in ourselves or our own ability to see, but rather in Him. Believe well.

My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.