“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
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