Jesus, Forgiveness, Healing, Grace, Mercy, Redemption are all words that are associated with Christianity but the understanding of them is being lost today's world.
What is the purpose of our lives?
I find it extraordinary that so many people can journey through life for many years without even giving a second thought to vital questions such as - Where did I come from? Why am I here? Am I a spirit living inside a body or a human body with a spirit living inside? What happens to me after I die?
Mind you, I used to be the same until I came across the following short story. I can't remember where or the exact words so I've used my own.
There was mighty King who had a Jester who the King reckoned to be the biggest fool in the world, so much so that he presented him with an Ornamental Golden Staff and told him that if he ever met a bigger fool than himself then he must pass the Staff on to the bigger fool. Many years later the King was on his death bed and sent for the Jester hoping that the fool would cheer him up. The King avoided the subject of death but instead explained that he was going on a long journey. The Jester asked the King if he had made preparations for his journey and when the King said not the Jester gave a bow, doffed his cap and gave the Golden Staff back to the King.
The story illustrates one of the few things that we can be certain about in this world, it is that one day we shall die. At the other end of the scale of uncertainty is the fact that we don’t know when it will be and what happens after death. But, what a pity it would be to die and not have known why we were here in the first place!
My Christian Faith leads me to accept that the primary purpose of this life is a simple one - it’s to provide each of us with a time here on Earth to chose, or ignore, an opportunity to live for eternity in the presence of our loving creator God.
For this to be a meaningful choice it has to be made before our inevitable death from this life. Some, when they meet God Face to face, will realise too late the opportunity they have missed.
Those who will be allowed to remain in God's presence will still have to give an account of the lives they have lived.
In this God not be particularly interested in how much material wealth we have accumulated, or how many educational certificates we have obtained, or how many competitive medals we have won, or languages we can speak. He will look at whatever 'character' has been formed in our hearts and minds and what measure of Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self control has grown within.
He will take into account all the mitigating circumstances we have lived through and will be more concerned with who we were trying to be rather that who we were able to become.
He will be interested in how fully we partook fully the opportunities that came our way or did we merely drift along and allow the situations around us to dictate themselves. In this Christians are very different than the Muslims who have a fatalistic approach to life where they believe that everything in the present and the future, even in the choices we make as individuals, is already 'written in the book' The Christian belief however is that we have a choice to either allow our lives to drift along and be controlled by the circumstances that come our way or we can help write our own 'book of life' using the principle of 'free choice' that God has given us. A principle where the rule of 'reaping what we sow will apply'
The next Chapter will explore 'Our Journey through Life' - Click here.
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