Friday, October 31, 2014

Pastor's Desktop Article for November 2014



Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.   
John 17:3 NIV

            Why are we here?  What is the meaning of life?  These are questions that have been asked by mankind for generations, with limited satisfaction in finding answers.  Philosophers have pondered the universe in pursuit of answers, and many have ended their own lives because they lost sight of any significant reason to go on.  So, the world doesn’t have a really good, universally applicable reason or meaning for life.  What about the church?  What about God, what does He have to say about it?  The verse above very simply but succinctly answers the question.  “…that [we] man know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
            When we attempt to answer the meaning of life question without consulting the one who created the world, we cannot hope to satisfactorily answer the question.  It would be like the pot trying to determine its use without consulting the potter as to the reason it was made.  The resounding theme throughout all of Scripture is this theme.  From the beginning of time God has been making Himself known to mankind through a variety of means and ways.
            I think this helps us as a church, as well, to know why we are here.  What is it that Mt. Pleasant is supposed to do, here on the corner of Pittsburg and Mt. Pleasant?  As the Westminster Shorter Catechism responds to the question, “What is the chief end of man?  Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”  As a church, how can we help accomplish that chief end?  If we will be faithful in making Him known, through our actions, our prayers, our programs, our activities, our worship and our lives, we will be doing our part in that quest to make Him known.
            There is a limit to what mankind can do to make God known to other men and women.  Some would say that we just need to make the message easier to understand; we need to say it this way or that way.  I contend that a great deal of that work of man knowing God, not just knowing about God, but in actually knowing God, belongs to Him through the work of His Holy Spirit.  Jesus said, in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”  And again later in the same chapter, verse 65, “He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him’.”
            Our part as a believer in Christ and as a church body is to be faithful to do our part to make Him known through all those means mentioned above.  Then God will use this message as He stirs the heart of those who will one day truly come to know Him.     
               
By His Grace Alone,
Pastor Bruce Jacobsen