“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:10
As we begin a new year, we often do two things. First, we look back at the past year and reflect on what went well and what didn’t go well. Second, we then set goals or make plans to improve our lives in the new year.
As I reflect on 2024, I’m reminded that life on this earth is unpredictable and sometimes random for each of us and is something we have little to no control over. I’m sure the people of Asheville, NC, New Orleans, LA, and Pacific Palisades, CA had no inkling of the disasters that would strike them all in the past year through the devastating hurricane, terrorist attack, and wildfires, respectively. Their lives are forever altered by these events. In John 16:33, Jesus said, “in this world you will have trouble.” Sometimes these troubles come through random events or by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps your life has been changed by something bad that happened last year. Or maybe it was something good. In most cases it was not anything you did that created this change. It just happened.
As we look to the new year ahead, we all would like to have control over our lives and want our goals and plans for 2025 to come to fruition just as we planned them. But the reality is that not all of them will. John Lennon of the Beatles once famously said that “life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” I believe he meant that there are things that happen in our lives that often change our thoughts, our decisions, and our paths in life in ways we could not have foreseen, both positive and negative.
So, if we can’t truly control our lives, why do we keep trying and acting as if we can? What is life really all about anyway? Is life just a random day to day exploration of our world and an attempt to accumulate things along the way? Or is there something more to life than that?
The key to life is understanding why we are here and how we should live. The answer to these two questions is what I want to share in this month’s blog.
1. Why are we here? We are here because God put us here. He created man in Genesis 1:27 and created woman in Genesis 2:22. Through Adam and Eve, all humans were conceived and born on this earth. We were not created from amoeba or evolved from apes as some scientists claim. That was just a theory that they made up as an alternative to God as our Creator and has no scientific proof! God created us in His image, by His design, and for a purpose. Genesis 1:28 says that we were created to be fruitful, multiply, and rule over the earth. Exodus 20:1-17 says that we were also created to worship God and obey His commandments. As God’s creation, Adam and Eve had everything until they decided they wanted more than God. Their act of disobedience brought sin and separation from God into the lives of all humans thereafter. As our Creator, God is the One who is sovereign over our lives, not us!
Despite our disobedience and sinful nature, God did not abandon us or give up on us. As Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loved us so much that He wanted to be with us forever. In order to do that, God sent his own son Jesus into the world to bear our sins and disobedience on the cross and reconcile us back to God through His life, death, and resurrection. Jesus did what we could not do. It was His death on the cross that reconciled us to God and gave us an eternal life with our Creator! God not only put us here, but He also wanted us here!
2. How should we live? All humans need to understand that it was God who created and designed us and therefore knows best how we should live and function on this earth. God gave us His Word, the Bible, to show us exactly how we should do that. There is an old acronym for the Bible that says that it means Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. All of our failures and our sins are a result of our turning away from our creator, ignoring His instructions, and trying to live life our way. If we keep doing this, we will continue to struggle and never experience the fullness of life that Jesus came to bring us (John 10:10). And while we can still make plans for our lives, we must also remember that Proverbs 19:21 says that “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it’s the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Jesus was sent not only to reconcile us to God, but also to show us how obedience to God’s Word is lived out according to His purpose.
So, what is the key to living a full and rewarding life? The key to life is recognizing God as our Creator and living according to His Word. It’s about putting our faith and trust in Jesus for what He did for us and allowing God to use us for His purpose. And it’s knowing that each time we fail, God forgives us and enables us to go forward and experience the full life He has designed for us to live! It’s not about accumulating the things of this earth, such as wealth, fame, and possessions (Luke 12:15). It’s about trusting God’s design and purpose and allowing Him to use us to bless others and glorify Him!
There are 4 things that we can do to experience this kind of life. First, we must submit to God and His will (James 4:7-8). It starts with recognizing God as our Creator and that He has a purpose for our life. Second, we should pray for God’s wisdom in how we should live (Proverbs 3:5-6). We don’t know all the answers, but God does. We just need to meditate on His Word and allow Him to reveal His wisdom to us through it. Third, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us on the right path (John 16:13). We need to think and act spiritually, not physically. And fourth, we need to be more like Jesus and follow His example of obedience, humility, service to others, and compassion (Philippians 2:5-8).
When we live our lives without God and ignore His Word, we will regret our choices and what our life has produced when we reach the end of it. As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:24-26, living life without God is “meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Living life our way goes against our Creator’s design and purpose for our life. Therefore, the key to life on this earth is living life God’s way! Give it a try. You won’t regret it!