Me? Important? No way!
How could life be meaningful?

When my friend posed these questions, many things popped into my mind. Life is meaningful because I have something to live for-- I have Jesus. But how could I explain that to her? Her concept of God is a faraway, abstract entity constantly evading her grasp. How could she possibly understand what my Jesus is to me? It's something I couldn't explain.

And yet, I couldn't entirely dismiss the fact that life seems so empty. So.. devoid of purpose. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes: life is meaningless, like chasing after the wind. Life's this one gigantic rat race. And the race track just goes on and on in a loop. What is life's purpose? The pursuit of a happy life, superior knowledge, an arsenal of wealth?

None of these.

Life's purpose is to glorify God. We live for Him. To serve Him. To carry out His will in our lives.

How can a non-Christian possibly understand this concept of living for somone-- a higher being?

I thought of an analogy of a life-and-death situation resulting from an accident:

Suppose you are in a building when a very strong earthquake occurs. Everyone manages to exit the building but you are trapped under the concrete and debris. Each tremor diminishes your chance of getting out alive. The building you are in is in danger of collapsing altogether. You are trapped on the 4th floor and people have given you up as a gone case. Attempting a rescue would easily cost the rescuer his life. You have begun giving up on yourself as well. Seems as if all hope is lost.

And then.. out of the smoke a man appears. He starts toward the entrance of the building, silent, turning a deaf ear to the warnings and restraints of the people. He digs through downed ceilings and dodges live wires till He gets to you. Like a man searching for his lost love through the rubble, He earnestly claws away at wood and cement. He finally reaches you and pulls you out of what would have been your tomb.

He carries you to the window and drops you slowly towards the waiting firefighters below. As He lowers you to safety however, a powerful aftershock shakes the very foundations of the building. It is all over in a matter of seconds. Once the smoke clears, what is left is a mere pile of rocks and rubble where once the building stood. The firefighters call out through the clearing haze, but there is no response.

He gave His life to save yours.

The question is: how would you look at life, knowing that you have been given a second chance? Someone gave their life for you-- how could you then look at yourself as something less than important?


{You have just been granted a sneak-peek of Karissa's non-online journal}