I was scribbling in my diary last night and had a sudden revelation about achievements and the motives behind it. Pete mentioned in his sermon yesterday that life is not meaningless, that its full of meaning because of what Jesus has done for us. And that our labor now is not in vain because we have a glorious hope that is true and unfading.
With that thought and the pressure to find work swirling in my mind, I lamented about how I had wasted about 8 months of life now, with nothing to show for it. I wondered why I was so obsessed with the 'big'. Why I always wanted to produce something worthwhile and admirable with my time and energy. Then I thought, maybe its because I want to justify my existance. I want people to look at me and confirm that I am an assett and not a waste of space/oxygen/steak.
Thats when the revelation hit me.
My existance doesnt need justification because it was God who ordained it. God created me because He loved me enough to want to be in a relationship with me. So in a sense, because I was made to serve & glorify God, to be in a relationship with Him and to submit to His kingship, I dont have to justify my existance. Its already justified. It was justified the moment God chose me before the creation of the world, and continues to be justified everytime I live the way God wants me to. I dont have to prove my worth to anyone.
However, just because I dont have to justify my existance doesnt mean I dont have live responsibly. Human agency demands that in the 'eschaton' or 'end times', I will have to stand before the rightful and almighty Judge and give an account as to how I've lived and what I've done with the gifts He has given me. Hence I should make sure I do my best to live up to His expectations so I dont dissapoint Him too much, and so that He will be pleased with my life.
At the end of the day, the goal is more or less the same. You want to live life the best you can by remembering the purpose you were made for. Differences are:
(a) Christians know their purpose whereas non-believers have none. To them, life truly is meaningless.
(b) What 'living the best we can' looks like
(c) The motives behind not wanting to 'waste our lives'
With that thought and the pressure to find work swirling in my mind, I lamented about how I had wasted about 8 months of life now, with nothing to show for it. I wondered why I was so obsessed with the 'big'. Why I always wanted to produce something worthwhile and admirable with my time and energy. Then I thought, maybe its because I want to justify my existance. I want people to look at me and confirm that I am an assett and not a waste of space/oxygen/steak.
Thats when the revelation hit me.
My existance doesnt need justification because it was God who ordained it. God created me because He loved me enough to want to be in a relationship with me. So in a sense, because I was made to serve & glorify God, to be in a relationship with Him and to submit to His kingship, I dont have to justify my existance. Its already justified. It was justified the moment God chose me before the creation of the world, and continues to be justified everytime I live the way God wants me to. I dont have to prove my worth to anyone.
However, just because I dont have to justify my existance doesnt mean I dont have live responsibly. Human agency demands that in the 'eschaton' or 'end times', I will have to stand before the rightful and almighty Judge and give an account as to how I've lived and what I've done with the gifts He has given me. Hence I should make sure I do my best to live up to His expectations so I dont dissapoint Him too much, and so that He will be pleased with my life.
At the end of the day, the goal is more or less the same. You want to live life the best you can by remembering the purpose you were made for. Differences are:
(a) Christians know their purpose whereas non-believers have none. To them, life truly is meaningless.
(b) What 'living the best we can' looks like
(c) The motives behind not wanting to 'waste our lives'
