The Purpose of Life

Christians should be assured of Christ’s coming and our home in the heavenly Jerusalem, but our lives on Earth are not just wastes of time. We’re called to live, not to wait around in hopes of being whisked away.

“Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.”

-Proverbs 4:4

Take comfort that we have a risen Savior and that he reigns King through eternity. He graced us with His Commandments, His Word, and the Holy Spirit. He equipped us with everything we need to persevere in the here and now, through peacetime and through tribulation.

If we live for ourselves and the desires of our hearts, our souls will surely die, but if we live to glorify God in all things, we will obtain life everlasting.

Our purpose is not to partake in every carnal pleasure and to collect as many treasures as possible while alive. If we happen to find love and material comforts while we’re here, Praise God for it! These are blessings from above.

But our rewards are in Heaven and our purpose on earth is to live today for the Glory of God. That “sweet life”, that peace and freedom which we long for can only be obtained through His son, Jesus Christ.

“And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.”

-Ezekiel 16:6

I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

Love to Jesus

An excerpt from The Valley of Vision:

“Lord Jesus,

If I love thee my soul shall seek thee,

but can I see thee unless my love to thee

is kept alive to this end?

Do I love thee because thou art good,

And canst alone do me good?

It is fitting thou shouldest not regard me,

for I am vile and selfish;

yet I seek thee,

and when I find thee there is no wrath

to devour me,

but only sweet love.

Thou dost stand as a rock between the scorching sun

and my soul,

and I live under the cool lee-side as one elect.

The Annunciation - Henry Ossawa Tanner, image credit The Philedelphia Museum of Art

When my mind acts without thee,

it spins nothing but deceit and delusion;

When my affections act without thee

nothing is seen but dead works.

O how I need thee to abide in me,

for I have no natural eyes to see thee,

but I live by faith in one whose face to me

is brighter than a thousand suns!

When I see that all sin is in me, all shame

belongs to me;

let me know that all good is in thee,

all glory is thine.

Keep me from the error of thinking thou dost

appear gloriously

when some strange light fills my heart,

as if that were the glorious activity of grace,

but let me see that the truest revelation of thyself

is when thou dost eclipse all my personal glory

of this world.

The Son breaks out in glory

when he shows himself as one who outshines

all creation,

makes men poor in spirit,

and helps them to find their good in him.

Grant that I may distrust myself, to see

my all in thee."

Can Two Walk Together, Except They Be Agreed?

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed? – Amos 3:3

Lucas van Leyden, The Expulsion of Adam and Eve, Public Domain Image

tl;dr, Surely not.

That is why the apostle Paul admonishes the Corinthians not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2nd Corinthians 6:14). What fellowship can there be between light and darkness?

God requires us to worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), with our entire heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5). To walk with the Lord you must believe him in all things, not just some things that you pick and choose for yourself. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it (Jeremiah 17:9)?” The indwelling sin in our hearts will deceive us at every chance it gets. Therefore in all things we must defer to God’s word above all else.

“It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.

Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.

Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. " - Psalm 119:126-128

When the world is turning its back on God, you must turn your back on the world. Only then can you and the Lord be in agreement. Friendship with the world is enmity with God, and whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4).

Selah.