"What Is Life?" (May 16, 2016)

Eat, drink, and have a good time for tomorrow we die! Some say that’s Life! What is then the essence of living?  We are born, we grow up and we become old and die. I guess that’s what the wise men of this world call, the cycle of life. But not all go that way, some die young, others take their own life and many leave this world, seemingly before their time! Some are victims of so-called natural disasters - earthquakes, bad weather, fires, and unforeseen accidents. Others check-out due to overindulgence of alcohol, drugs, nicotine, unhealthy foods, overeating, etc. etc. etc.

That people are constantly dying and leave this world is no mystery. Death is all around us. It doesn’t matter whether you are a “john-doe” on the streets of skid-row or a “Prince” from Minnesota worth millions and known around the world; all die the same way. All are buried in the ground like a common animal. Regardless of your gifts and contributions, your accomplishments and reputation or the lack thereof, in the final analysis it really means little because you leave it all behind.

Perhaps that’s exactly what Jesus meant when he said, “what shall it profit a man (or woman) if he shall gain the whole world and loose his own soul.” (Matthew 16:26)

Does life as we know it end here? What about the hereafter? Is there life beyond the grave? What is the purpose of religion or the knowledge of God? Lately I have been taken to ponder these questions in view of the death of some of my neighbors and friends. One neighbor collapsed at the gym and died; he was in his middle sixties. Another died and he was in his early fifties. Another neighbor that I greeted regularly as I drove in and out of my neighborhood, his wife informed me that he died three weeks ago! Whether we care to admit it or not death is final. It brings closure to a life, a human being, someone we knew but they are gone and they are here no more.

Where did they go? Will they live again? Here is exactly where Christian faith makes a difference. Christ offers hope. Christianity is faith in Christ alone in order to receive forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life. This standing with God cannot be obtained any other way. Not by good works, nor faith in His earthly mother or any church. By that I mean organized religion. Many people ignore the fact that Mary is not a virgin no more. She was a virgin before Christ was born but after that she became a normal woman and her and Joseph, her husband, took up a normal sexual relationship and produced other siblings. The Bible teaches that Joseph and Mary had other children. (Mark 6:3) James if referred to as the brother of the Lord!

No one else offers what Jesus Christ offers. No other religious leader ever claimed nor experienced a personal resurrection. There is only one tomb that is visited by millions every year because it is empty! So why do you live life like you do? If you don’t believe in a hereafter and a judgement or a day of reckoning why do you live like you do? What does it matter if the dead don’t rise again? Jesus taught all will rise again and be judged accordingly. Some will go into eternal life with Christ and others will go into eternal damnation into a literal lake of fire with the devil and all who were fooled from believing in Jesus our Lord. This is the very mission, purpose and message of the Christ. To bring good news and give salvation to all who would believe on Him. This is exactly why Jesus taught, “I am the way the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

So what is your life all about?  Live a moral life, don’t hurt anyone; pay your bills on time. Do you try to live by the golden rule, go to church; give to the poor?  You live by a set of rules, do’s and don’ts, by the ten commandments? All that has its place, but do you know God? What have you done with Christ and all He taught? In case nobody has told you; you will stand before Him some day and be judged by Him because He died for your and you own Him. Maybe now you realize you must make some changed to your lifestyle. Why not turn your empty life over to Jesus and let Him show you how to live a life worth living with purpose and meaning in the hereafter eternal life in a world without end.

~ Pastor John