Eternity in Our Hearts
The Meaning of Life… What is the Meaning of Life, the purpose of Life, why am I alive? Hello, my name is Bob, and welcome to my The Meaning of Life . Today
A number of years ago I found the Meaning of Life. I did not know that I was seeking the meaning of life, though I was on an exploration of seeking God, and on this exploration, this journey, God was a mystery. On the one hand, I knew who God was: He was the Creator, the One who made the Universe, The One who had created man (mankind), and if we prayed, He was suppose to hear our prayers, so I somewhat “knew” who God was. But this did not satisfy my search.
King Solomon said “God has set Eternity in the heart of man”. What does it mean that “Eternity is in our hearts”? It is an ability to comprehend some of the wonderment with which God made the heavens and the earth, an ability to comprehend some of the vast wisdom that is embodied in the fabric of the material universe, an ability to touch some of the intricacies that are behind the creation of the marvelous cacophony of life… this is a little bit of what “eternity in our hearts” is, but these topics are just God’s handiwork, not His eternal plan for us.
“Eternity in our hearts” tells us that there is something more. We have a sense of the divine, and a sense of the eternal. On a dark night when we look up at a starry sky – it pulls us out into its incredible vastness and we sense something of a marvelous God. When we learn about some of the incredible physiology of the human body, we see the Maker’s hand and it marvels us. And when we go out into nature and see its beauty and enjoy the peace it brings, we enjoy a little something of the nature of God. Yet we cannot grasp it fully. It is like walking by the kitchen exhaust of a good restaurant. It smells delicious, and you are hungry, but that is all you get! It is like we get the smell of something wonderful cooking, but don’t get any to eat. That is what “eternity in our hearts” is. We get a taste, a sampling, of something wonderful, but it is our duty to find the restaurant and sample the menu. Eternity in our hearts serves to lead us to the meaning of life, the purpose of our life, why we are alive.
A thousand years after Solomon there was a man named Paul. He said that “God made the nations… that they might seek God, if perchance they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not very far from each one of us”. As one who knew something regarding God, Paul tells us that God is near to us, not far, and that if we grope for Him, we might actually by accident, touch Him! Yet he also tells us that in the Meaning of Life, we must seek God. “God made the Nations… that they might seek God” This is the first purpose of man and the purpose of life, that a person should seek God.
The Bible gives us a little view of what a life looks like of a person who has found the Meaning of Life. That can be seen in life of Abraham. He had faith in God. God called him and he left his own country seeking God and trusting God. He lived on earth as a stranger, a pilgrim, yet he lived a life that was in fellowship with God even to the extent that he was called a “friend of God”. How about you? Do you know someone whose life is a testimony that they are a friend of God? It would be evident. And to such a friend of God, God made a promise that he would bless all the nations of the earth through his seed (child, descendant). So a further step in the Meaning of Life is to participate in this great promised blessing made to Abraham.
Abraham, by his faithfulness to God, laid the foundation for God’s ultimate blessing of mankind. You see, Abraham and his wife Sarah were childless, yet God promised him that he would have a son. So at the age of 100 Abraham had a son Isaac. Eventually God told Abraham to take his son Isaac up to the mountain and to offer him as an offering. Abraham was faithful to God and believed that God was the God of resurrection, so he took Isaac up to offer him. As Abraham raised his knife to slay his son, God called out to him to stop, and God provided a ram in Isaac’s place. By being faithful to God and carrying this out, Abraham laid the foundation for God’s faithful promise to be fulfilled, that God would send His own Son to that very mountain, that He would be our substitute and be slain for us, and die for the sin of all mankind. Jesus Christ, a son of Abraham, died as a pleasing offering to God to satisfy God’s righteous requirement for the payment for man’s sin. This brought in the total greatest blessing to all Mankind, just as God had promised: the forgiveness of sins, that we would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In my search I began to wonder what the relationship between God and Jesus was, I did not understand. I was seeking God …but who was Jesus? In my search for God I got to the point where I wanted to know more about Jesus… We know that he was a good man, who did good works, and who spoke heavenly words. His life of goodness, of godliness, and the wisdom of his words he spoke still affect our world today. The record of the apostles shows us that Jesus was the lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.
​ Also from the apostles, we learn that the Meaning of Life, the purpose of our living, is to receive Jesus Christ. Paul said “as many as received him, these are sons of God”. When we receive Jesus Christ, we get God, we enter into the blessing of Abraham, and our sins are forgiven. In addition we receive the Holy Spirit and are born anew to be both sons of God and sons of Abraham. This is the Meaning of Life. Seek God, receive Jesus, get the blessing!
Is it hard or difficult? Paul, the one who said God in not very far from us, also said “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith which we proclaim, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. This is in Romans chapter 10 verses 8 & 9. Just as God is near you, His Word is near you, also it is already in your mouth and in your heart, you just have to confess Jesus as Lord and then you will believe that God raised him from the dead. Wonderful! Paul also says “for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (verse 13) Jesus is Lord, so call His name “Lord Jesus” and you will be saved and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
​ If you want the Meaning of Life, the purpose of life, to know why I am alive, call His name “Lord Jesus” and pray to Him out loud and thank Him that He died for your sins, thank Him that you are forgiven by God. Then ask God to lead you to the christians that He wants you to be with. Tell them how you have believed in Jesus and prayed to Him and thanked Him, then have them baptize you in water as your first step of obedience to God. Get a Bible and begin to read about Jesus’ life in the Gospels. Now begin to meet with other believers in a home setting.
Now go and tell others about the meaning of life!
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Let me say this: Your new found happiness will cause some to try and pour “cold water” on you, even from among your own family. Please be warned of this. Do not let such talk dampen your spirit! Not all people have reached the same point you that have.