The Great 3 Questions of Mankind... answered in Christ

 

Three Questions

We Should all be asking

   We live in a society that keeps us remarkably busy.  We rush here and there and occupy ourselves with so many details of life.  If we are not careful, we may get so busy that we may miss the things that may be the most important of all!  We may fall into the trap of spending all of our energy on things that do not last.  If we are not careful, we may realize too late that we have not spent time discovering what was most important. 

   I believe that mankind has three questions that develop out of the deepest needs of the spirit of man that we should be asking. 

1.     Who am I?

2.    Why am I here? 

3.    What is my purpose?

   This paper is written to define the impact of these questions and the great needs of mankind that these questions represent and how those needs can be met in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

   The first question that we ask is “Who am I?”  I believe that this question relates to one of our greatest needs.  We are looking for significance and meaning.  We want to know who we are, so we can feel more comfortable about ourselves.  This has led us on a search for enlightenment.  We seek high and low for answers and insight.  We seek out the wise and learned men and women of the world to give us wisdom and understanding.  Our search takes us to the doors of philosophy, religion, mysticism, astrology, sociology, and many more paths, hoping to find the insight that can really satisfy us.  The search for enlightenment can motivate us to do a lot of things that may or may not be healthy.  We may search in material things, or in relationships, or in traveling the world.  The bad thing about some of these searches is that they can cause us to end up worse off in life and… still without answers.  I believe that the question of enlightenment comes out of the characteristic of our spirit, like that of our conscience.  Our conscience is that aspect of man that pricks his heart when he is heading in the wrong direction in life.  The needling in his heart that lets him know that something is not right.

   One of the wisest men who ever lived wrote a book about his search for wisdom and knowledge; it is called Ecclesiastes.  King Solomon wrote of his experiences of wealth and wisdom and possessions and influence and love and relationships.  He writes that his conclusion was “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit”.  This is a remarkable statement when you realize that he was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived and had wisdom and influence in abundance.  He had everything that anyone could ever have – yet still had not found true enlightenment and insight.

   There have been a lot of people of history that have drawn the conclusion that life only has meaning if it involves a relationship with God.  We were created by God, though we didn’t give Him the credit for it.  Our lives are sustained by God, but we do not give Him the praise for it.  We were given the gift of the life of Jesus Christ to be an example of how to live, but we wrote Him off as a great man, or prophet, or teacher, but failed to acknowledge that He in actuality – was divine!  He was the God of the universe, who had come down as a man to demonstrate the life of God and how fulfilled mankind could be in Him.  We were given the gift of the death of Jesus being offered in our place, but we downplayed our desperate need.  Though we have rejected what God has done to elicit our attention, we could find in Him all our heart yearns and desires.

   If you are searching for enlightenment, if you are searching for meaning, you will find it in Jesus, for Jesus said “I am the Truth.  Jesus was the embodiment of Truth.  He understood the attitudes and hearts of men.  He knew the deep intricacies of the human mind and knew what men were thinking.  He understood the pain of disease and the heartache of sin.  He understood all the details of life.  He is also the spiritual truth that you have been longing for.  Jesus knew of the spiritual powers of the devils and the life freeing power of the Father.  What God revealed through Christ will stand the test of time and eternity.  All other philosophies of man will soon be disproven and those that have put their trust in them will fail, but those who have put the trust in Christ will never fail.  A life based on Jesus is a life based on Truth.

   Jesus is the embodiment of the truth about God; he is the manifestation of the truth of time and eternity.  You can search the world for truth and find yourself no better off, or you can discover life with Jesus and find the truth that will stand the test of time.  There has been a multitude of belief systems that have been created over the centuries by men and women who thought that they held some truth.  The ideas and principles that they espoused were taught with boldness and assurance, but may not have been based on the total truth of life and eternity and one day the people that trusted in them will find out that they were horribly misled.   They will find out in eternity that part of what they believed in was not based on truth.

   The second search of man is the search for fulfillment and satisfaction.  We ask “Why am I here?”  We live our lives, we work our jobs, we build our family and career, but we often wonder “What is the point of it all?   What is the point of sustaining life, if we are just going through the motions of existence?  To the question of purpose and meaning, Jesus says that “I am the Life.”  Jesus can fulfill your life in a way in which nothing else in life can. 

   Listen to the words of Saint Augustine “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.”  The highest fulfillment in life can be found when one begins a relationship with God.  To be a child of God is to have the greatest joy and peace and love that can be found.  We can be accepted by God through faith and trust in Jesus.  Listen to the words of Solomon in another part of Ecclesiastes “For he shall not much remember the days of his life because God answered him in the joy of his heart.”  Solomon had found that bringing God into the equation of life changes life from vanity to joy.  He also states in Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”  Truly Solomon had discovered the key to life is not having possessions, and power, and influence, and relationship, but in having… God in your life.  He will bring you the dimension to life that will bring you the greatest satisfaction that you have ever experienced.  Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly.”  “Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”  Most people think that what Jesus came to bring was religion, but what he came to bring was life.  True life, joyous life, a fulfilled life!

   Years ago I was working in the military and had discovered some of the adventures of traveling around the country and working on airplanes and meeting new people, but eventually, my life settled in to just another day in day out job.  In my heart I started to say “There has got to be more to life than this.”  I am not sure how people can go so long in life without wondering if there are more to life than just the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social dimensions.  My search for a deeper purpose than just earning a living took me to a few religious and philosophical experiences, but I did not find the satisfaction that I was longing for until I discovered a spiritual relationship with the Lord. 

   The final question that relays a longing in our life is “What is my purpose?”  The other questions were related to our past and our present, but this question relates to our future.  I believe that this question and the concern that it produces grows out of the aspect of our spirit of our intuition.  That aspect that tries to confirm to us that something is not quite right, or that we should do a particular thing at a particular time. 

   We also have this deep sense of urgency and concern that can lead to fear and dread of what might happen in our future if we continue on our present path?  We may behave in different ways, but our heart impresses us that regardless of what others might think, or what our culture dictates, we wonder if we are going to one day be held accountable.  We wonder if someday we might be held responsible for our actions.  The heart and soul of man have led people to talk about ethics and morality, and judgment, even if religion and spirituality are not even mentioned.

   Let me tell you when you have the deepest needs of your spirit satisfied in Christ – you could be pushing a broom, or mopping a floor, or picking up trash… and discover a greater purpose in it.  Jesus can help you to see the eternal significance of a life lived for His glory. 

   To the question of “Why I am here?”, Jesus says “I am the Way”.  Jesus is the way.  He is the way to God, he is the way to a fulfilled life, he is the way to heaven, he is the way to purpose.

 

    I would be amiss if I did not warn you that your feelings of concern for the future are justified.  The Bible clearly states in Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this… the judgment.”  The Bible states that we will all someday stand before God and give an account of our actions.  This is not mentioned in the Bible to scare you, but to motivate you to prepare for what is one day going to happen.  We will all one day die.  The chances of us one day dying are 100%.   Jesus made the statement in Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul” but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  In Matthew 16:26 it states, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”  “Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

   Jesus can provide all that we need for life and eternity.  You can secure your life on him and it will never be shaken.  Listen to the words of Philippians Chapter 2, verses 9-11. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every other name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  One day in eternity everyone who has ever lived, or will ever live will acknowledge that Jesus was the one that they should have put their trust in, or that he is the one that they DID put their trust in.  Which one will you be?

 

      Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father, but by me.”  With this statement, Jesus was offering to the world a chance to meet their deepest needs and greatly fulfill their life.  He provides our need for meaning and enlightenment by giving us significance, and forgiveness, and acceptance in him. 

       If you are looking for enlightenment – Jesus says to you “I am the Truth”.

       If you are looking for fulfillment – He says to you and me “I am the Life.” 

       If you are looking for purpose – He says, “I am the Way”.

    

   Truly Jesus is everything we need.  He produces for our enlightenment by providing us His peace.  He provides our need for fulfillment by giving us His love.  He provides us with direction and purpose by giving us, Hope.  He also provides us with security for our future by providing us the absolute assurance of one day being with him.  He gives us forgiveness for our past, fulfillment for our present, and a wonderful future.  He truly provides all that we need in life… if we would just ask the questions and find that He is the answer.

   

 

 

Written by Lee Malden  2020

For more information: email lmalden@hotmail.com