The Bread Of Life never goes stale |
What Is Life?
by
Kraig J. Rice
Have you ever wondered:
What Is Life? Why am I here on this earth? What is the purpose for my existence?
I think that it is good that you are analyzing life. I did the same
thing. I had a lot of questions but few answers that satisfied me. All of these were
mysteries to me that I wanted answers to.
My biggest mystery was that I didn't know what life was. I was alive. I could think. But
there was something about life that eluded me. What was life? I was a hunter and killed
animals. Was departed life just the meaning of death? If so, that still left me with more
questions than answers. I had life inside of my body but I couldn't see it, hear it, smell
it, feel it, or taste it. I could feel my emotions but I couldn't feel the life inside of
my body. It was then I realized that this life has a reality of it's own apart from my
senses.
A lot of human philosophers in the past and present, and a lot of religious teachers in
the past and in the present, have attempted explanations of the meaning of life. I
have read volumes of their opinions and most of the time I would get intellectually lost
in their written treatises. If you look inside of yourself you have to say I am alive.
You are trying to understand your own soul that is alive within you. It's pretty tough,
isn't it!
Well, when I was a young man I attempted to understand my own life force and view my own
soul, but I gave up in frustration. Why? I had a material body that was trying to understand
something that was not material. My life was not material so it was nebulous to my material
understanding. So, what did I do? I just went on my life's way like everyone else was doing.
I talked to a lot of educated people and found out that most were just as confused about
life's purpose as I was. Some had adopted this philosophy or that philosophy but
none of that satisfied me personally.
I attended a secular college and my anthropology professor presented macro evolution from a
purely humanistic view point. At the time I didn't have anything else better to believe in
so I took his word for it that he was teaching me the truth. After all, they are supposed
to teach you the truth in college, aren't they? So, I looked inside of myself and viewed
my own invisible soul as having a material beginning. That seemed to be a contradiction
of logic to me, but I shrugged my shoulders, accepted it to some degree, and went on my
life's way.
When I ran into problems with my life I tried to solve them through logic. But, this didn't
always work because some of life's problems seemed too big for me to tackle.
What I wanted was peace in my heart. You can't see or handle peace. It is as invisible
as life is. It seemed that nothing I did materially was going to satisfy this thirst
I had for peace. That sad fact introduced another contradiction in my life- why did I
want to keep a life inside of myself that was devoid of peace? Well, I didn't really want
to, but I didn't want to kill myself, either. So I lived a life without peace, thinking
that there was never going to be a way that would give me peace.
In my first 21 years on this planet I had delved into the material to satisfy the spiritual.
It didn't work. It won't work that way. It didn't work for me and it won't work for you.
You have to get into the spiritual to satisfy the spiritual inside of you. But Satan has
all kinds of traps and land mines set around for you to step on as soon as you begin
this journey into the spiritual. He is a spiritual being and now you are getting into
his arena. God is also spiritual and Satan is afraid that you will discover God as you
enter into this spiritual arena. You will discover that your life has been given to you
by God. Your life is a gift from a Life Being
(John 14:6). Peace is also linked to God,
Who also gives peace to any individual who asks for it
(John 14:27). And God gives
other blessings.
I entered into this spiritual arena when I invited Jesus Christ to come and live inside
of my heart. As a spirit, he entered into my invisible spiritual life. He is the spiritual
solution to the spiritual life inside of me. You can read about how this took place when
you read
my testimony.
Does that shock you that the answers to life are spiritual? Well, it shocked me. I had no
idea that this was the case. It was the farthest thing from my mind at that time.
While I was in the Navy, I had only gone to the bible study to learn about the bible
so I could argue with others about it.
To find reality in the spiritual was mind boggling. But that is what I found and I know
that it is the truth. I found the answer to the mystery of life, I found peace in my
heart, and I found a purpose for my existence. And I got all of my questions answered
when I attended bible college.
Life is fragile...handle with prayer |
King Solomon penned a few words about him finding true reality in the spiritual:
"...He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the
whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. So I concluded that there is
nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can.
And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are
gifts from God.
And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken
from it. God's purpose in this is that people should fear him.
Then I realized that God allows people to continue in their sinful ways so he
can test them. That way, they can see for themselves that they are no better
than animals. For humans and animals both breathe the same air, and both
die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! Both
go to the same place- the dust from which they came and to which they must
return. For who can prove that the human spirit goes upward and the spirit
of animals goes downward into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing
better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why they are here!
No one will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the future"
(Ecclesiastes 3:11b-22).
"Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life
snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at
the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For then the dust will return
to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
"All is meaningless," says the Teacher, "utterly meaningless."
Because the Teacher was wise, he taught the people everything he knew. He
collected proverbs and classified them. Indeed, the Teacher taught the plain truth,
and he did so in an interesting way.
A wise teacher's words spur students to action and emphasize important truths.
The collected sayings of the wise are like guidance from a shepherd.
But, my child, be warned: There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed.
Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!
Here is my final conclusion:
Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will
judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad"
(Ecclesiastes 12:6-14).
I encourage you to enter into the spiritual arena to find the spiritual answers that you
seek. He who finds God finds a good thing. Wise men still seek Him.
Spiritual salvation, peace in your heart, a conscious clear of guilt, and many blessings
await you in God's arms. I started my spiritual journey when I was 21 years old and I can
say in all honesty that I have no regrets about my decision to follow Christ.
So, how do you accept Christ and start this spiritual journey? How do you apply the spiritual
water of life to your dry and thirsty soul?
Click on the above banner if you want to learn how to start
a relationship with Jesus Christ.
"The will of Christ is the law of my life The presence of Christ is the joy of my life The glory of Christ is the crown of my life The service of Christ is the business of my life" -Alice Rekers |