Is man just a biological accident? Is the human race just another step in the process of a blind and purposeless evolution? Is human life just a brief flash of light between the long darkness that preceded the womb, and an everlasting darkness that will follow the grave? Is there any design or plan to my life?
Human life is driven and riddled by – guilt, fear, insecurity, anger, resentment, their past, baggage, possessions, money, etc. God on the other hand expects us to be purpose driven, driven by His plan. He has a purpose for our lives. Man’s meaning and significance in life comes from Him. Christ is the only enduring light of the world. Many superb story tellers have come and gone over the centuries. But the greatest of them all was the extraordinary man who ever lived – Jesus Christ.
The search for one’s purpose and meaning in life has puzzled civilisations since the beginning of time. It is only in a relationship with Jesus that we can discover who we are and what is the meaning, and purpose of our life. We may taste ample success and accomplishments in life. Yet remain without an enduring relationship with Jesus: A hollow life bereft of meaning and purpose! Why is that? Because our life is based on what we want to do, instead of what God wants and expects from us!
The persecutors of Jesus were determined to heap discredit and notoriety upon the memory of Jesus. Therefore they crucified two robbers on either side of Him. The first robber questioned Jesus’ divinity and challenged his identity. The second one confessed that he was indeed a sinner, was truly repentant and acknowledged his need for a saviour. Both the robbers were very close to their salvation. But the first robber missed the opportunity of a life time.
The same applies to us. Often we are so close to redeem ourselves and salvation and still miss it (Matthew 7:21-23). The thief who repented has often been quoted as a case of salvation at the 11th hour due to his sincere repentance.
Today, many a priest, bishop and even cardinals are afraid to proclaim what God teaches and to authentically transmit the doctrine of the Church. They blindly embrace the worldly development and are part of its bandwagon. Such a negligent shepherd who does not protect his flock is a “criminal shepherd who abandons his sheep.” One who has truly experienced Christ would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless wayward life. The meaning of life is to find your gift.
OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE: The manager of a manufacturing plant, for example, takes one of his workers over to a new machine that has just been installed. It is a huge and complicated machine. The manager instructs the workman, “Now, I am going to put you in charge of this machine. If you do a good job on the machine you will be rewarded. I warn you that it is an expensive machine. Should you mess up, out you go. Here is a manual that explains the machine. Get to work now.” “Just a minute”, says the worker “If this is going to make a difference between my reward and a loss of my job, I need more than this manual. A manual can be misread, and one cannot ask questions to a manual. How about getting somebody here from the place where they have manufactured this machine? He can tell me everything about the machine and show me how it functions.” This is a reasonable request by the workman.
Likewise, we are told that our task on earth is, “to know, love and serve God.” And our eternal happiness depends upon how well we do that, we will invariably ask, “who is going to tell me how, who is going to guide me about the things I need to know?”
God has anticipated this question and has answered it. He did not merely place a manual in our hands. He sent us someone from his domain to tell us all about the things we need to know. He sent to us no one less than his own Divine Son, in the person of Jesus Christ. Certainly, Jesus did not come upon this earth for the sole purpose of dying on the cross in atonement for mankind’s sins. He came to us in flesh and blood to teach us how to live.
GOD’S UNVEILING: God’s unveiling of Himself to mankind began with the truth He made known to our first father, Adam. Down through the centuries God made revelations concerning himself to the Patriarchs, such as Noah and Abraham; to Moses and the prophets who followed after Moses, such as Jeremiah and Daniel. From Adam until the coming of Christ, the truths revealed to us by God are called “Pre-Christian Revelations”. They were step-on-step preparations for the final unfolding of the Divine Truth which God was pleased to make through his Son, Jesus. Not everything Jesus taught is codified in the Bible. We know that many of the truths which make up the rich deposit of our faith have come down through the oral teachings of the Apostles, transmitted from generation to generation. We call this the traditions of the church. It is these twin sources – the Bible and tradition that Christians find the completeness of divine revelation.
GOOD FRIDAY: The mood on Good Friday is that of repentance, not celebration. No bells. No decorations. An empty tabernacle. A bare altar. This is the only day in the church-calendar when the Mass is not celebrated. Good Friday is the mirror held up by Jesus to mankind so that we can see ourselves in all our stark reality. In the way to Calvary where Jesus was crucified, we see humankind at its worst.
Heaven is a supernatural reward, to be achieved through the living of a supernatural life. An outward show of loyalty to Jesus is meaningless unless we also follow Christ in our hearts and our deeds. If we want to enroll as Disciples of Christ, we must (1) deny self (2) take up our cross (3) follow Jesus and be prepared to lose our life. We must live lives of complete and total submission to the will of God.
(The writer a social scientist and practising criminal lawyer holds a diploma in Theology).
