YEARNING FOR LIFE: PART V
“Dear Abby,” the letter began. “I am a 21-year-old male who feels lost and unfulfilled because I don’t know what I want from life. I am one of three adopted children. I was the child who always needed the family support system the most. I come from a not-so-happy family, one with all of its priorities centered around money – or, more accurately – the lack thereof. I never felt the love a child should feel from his family.
“My problem these days is my alcohol intake. I can’t stay away from beer. I drink to forget my family problems and the fact that I can’t seem to get anything right. I dropped out of college because I don’t have a passion for anyone or anything. I used to have hobbies, like writing and photography, but the alcohol has taken away my motivation and my creativity. I feel like I’m losing my will to keep trying. I want so badly to keep trying, but my emotions are keeping me down. I just want something new, something I can give my all to, something that won’t hurt me in the future.” Signed, “What Can I Do?”
Abby’s response was to recommend that that young man seek out a support group called Emotions Anonymous. My recommendation would have been a little bit different. I would have suggested that this young man learn how to pray, that he take the time to worship God, and that he pick up a Bible and read it at least five minutes a day. In short, I would have suggested that he seek to discern GOD’S purpose for his life. As Saint Augustine put it some 1600 years ago, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” I believe the young man who wrote the letter to “Dear Abby” has a restless heart, and it will forever be restless until it finds its rest in God.
Ladies and gentlemen, today is the fifth Sunday in Lent. As I’ve mentioned each of the last four weeks, Lent is a time for self-examination. If we are to be about the business of self-examination, then perhaps there are a number of questions we should be asking ourselves as we seek God’s presence in Lent – as we find ourselves yearning for life in Lent. Perhaps we should be asking ourselves questions like the following:
- Do I ever feel as if I am in a wilderness?
- Do I doubt God, myself, or others?
- Do I see weakness in myself and the need to change?
- Do setbacks and losses eat away at me?
- From what – or from whom – do I run away and hide?
- Am I facing temptation that I need help to resist?
- What do I need to confess in order to be free of guilt?
- With what am I struggling and in pain?
- What do I need to allow to die in me in order to be closer to God?
And then there’s the question we’re going to be wrestling with today: “How far have I strayed from God’s purpose for my life?” As Saint Augustine said, “Our hearts will be restless until they find their rest in God.” So let us ask ourselves now: How far have I strayed from God’s purpose for my life?
A 21-year-old man wrote a letter to an advice columnist seeking purpose in his life. Up to this point in his life, he has been unable to find it and has found himself turning instead to alcohol. I believe a good counseling professional would say that he is currently self-medicating. He is using alcohol to numb the pain and the emptiness he feels inside. Yet if Augustine is right, perhaps the reason HE has not found purpose in his life is because he has not yet found GOD’S purpose for his life. Have any of us ever found ourselves in a similar predicament? Have any of us ever strayed from God’s purpose for our lives?
Perhaps the place to start is to explore just exactly what God’s purpose for our lives really is. Does God have a purpose for our lives? I believe God does have a purpose for our lives. Yet in order to discern that purpose, I think there’s one basic question that we have to get right first. That question is this: Does God exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve God? Does God exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve God? You see, if we get the answer to that question wrong, we’re never going to get the rest of it right either. And unfortunately, there are a lot of otherwise very intelligent people who get the answer to that question wrong.
The day after the events of nine-eleven, Anne Graham Lotz – the daughter of Billy Graham – was interviewed by Jane Clayson on “The Early Show.” Clayson said, “I’ve heard people say, those who are religious, those who are not, that if God is good, how could God let this happen?” I think the basic theory behind that question is the belief that God exists to serve us. And if, in fact, God does exist to serve us, then clearly God failed us in this instance. Clayson then added, “To that, you say?”
Lotz replied, “I say God is also angry when he sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans, in a sense, have shaken their fist at God and said, ‘God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business…we want you out of our marketplace.’ And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life – our public life – removing his hand of blessing and protection. We need to turn to God first of all and say, ‘God, we’re sorry we have treated you this way and we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you.’ We have our trust in God on our coins; we need to practice it.”
Does God exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve God? Get the answer to that question wrong and we’re never going to get the rest of it right either. Jane Clayson saw a God who exists to serve us. Anne Graham Lotz saw us existing to serve God. Ladies and gentlemen, we exist to serve God. That does not mean that God does nothing for us. I mean, if God did nothing for us, then what would be the point of having him around? Yet first and foremost we must remember that we exist to serve God. We serve God not in order to get something from him, rather, we serve God because of what he has already done.
In fact, we see just exactly how God wants us to serve him in the passage Scott read from the book of Micah. The question is asked, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?” The passage then goes into what God doesn’t want, but then it dictates just exactly what he does. The words of God are these: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” For those of us looking for purpose in life, I think we’ve found our starting point.
The Presbyterian faith is called a “confessional” faith. By that I mean we consider the creeds and confessions of the church to be a part of our faith foundation as well. They are what we call “sub-Scriptura,” which means they rank just below Scripture in formulating our belief system. The creeds and confessions of the church include the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Westminster Confession of Faith, to name but a few.
The Shorter Catechism is one of those confessions to which the church adheres. The Shorter Catechism is essentially a condensed version of the Westminster Confession, originally written to aid children in learning about the Christian faith. The Shorter Catechism is a series of short questions and answers. Yet when it comes to expressing God’s purpose for our lives, nothing defines it any better. The question is asked in the Catechism, “What is the chief end of man?” In other words, what is our purpose in life? The answer is, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” To enjoy God forever, obviously, is to have joy in this lifetime and to have eternal life as well. Yet how do we glorify God? The Old Testament would say, “Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” Yet I think Jesus has something more to add in the passage we read from the gospel according to Matthew.
The scene is a mountaintop in Galilee. Jesus has been crucified, resurrected, and has made several post-resurrection appearances to his disciples. This is his last appearance to them before his ascension. And here is what he had to say: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
These words have been called “The Great Commission.” Think about it. What does the word “commission” really mean? It literally means “co-mission.” The Great Commission is a great co-mission that we are called to undertake with none other than Jesus Christ himself. For those of us looking for purpose in life, I think we’ve found our answer right here. Our purpose in life is to make disciples of all nations. Our purpose in life…is to make a difference in Jesus’ name. Yet just exactly how do we go about making a difference in Jesus’ name? Listen to the story of one woman who seems to have figured it out.
Once upon a time, some dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life in general. One man, the Chief Executive Officer of a large corporation, decided to explain his understanding of the problem with education. He blurted, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided that their best option in life was to become a teacher? It’s true what they say about teachers, you know. Those who can, DO. Those who can’t, TEACH.” Then he looked right at one of the other dinner guests, an elementary school teacher named Susan. He said to her, “You’re a teacher, Susan. Be honest. What do you make?”
Susan replied, “You want to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C-plus feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor, and I can make an A-minus feel like a slap in the face, if the student did not do his or her best. I can make 30 kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence. I can make them tremble in fear when I threaten to send them to the principal’s office.
“You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them critique. I make them apologize…and mean it. I make them write. I make them read and read and read some more. I make them spell the word ‘beautiful’ over and over again until they will never misspell it the rest of their lives. I make them show all of their work in math and hide it all on their final drafts in English.
“I elevate them to experience music and art and the joy of performance so their lives are rich and full of culture, and they take pride in themselves and their accomplishments. I make them understand that God is up above, watching over them like a mother hen cares for her chicks. I make them believe that if they have the brains, they should follow their hearts…and if someone ever tries to judge them by what they make, they should pay them no attention.”
The mouths of the other dinner guests were agape as Susan concluded: “You want to know what I make? I make a difference. What do you make?” And that, my friends, was pretty much the end of the conversation.
Augustine once said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” Our hearts will forever be restless until we find our purpose in life. Our purpose in life is found when we find God’s purpose for our lives. And we will find God’s purpose for our lives when we find a way to make a difference…when we find a way to make a difference in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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