"What on Earth am I Here For?"

Col.2:6-15 Week 1, "40 Days of Purpose"

Worldview Fallout

How we see life has a lot to do with whether it seems to have any purpose. There are voices that say there is no God, that matter is all there is, or that the human is the highest intelligence in the evolutionary scale. But the Bible presents a worldview that contains a handful of distinct features - that God is really there, this life is not the end, judgment is coming, and sins can be forgiven through Jesus Christ. Believing this worldview creates a sense of purpose and hope that other views just can't match.

        Our worldview has fallout. What's fallout? For those who've ever approached Sudbury, home of the giant nickel, there is one structure that dominates the skyline - actually two, a big and a not so big INCO smokestack. The nickel smelter used the smaller stack for years until the surrounding landscape started to resemble the moon: the sulfur in the exhaust was precipitated in acid rain, killing vegetation and poisoning lakes. What was the human solution? Build a bigger smokestack! This monster chimney put the fumes up into the higher level of air currents so the exhaust was spread over a much larger area. But the sulfur still comes down, "falls out" of the atmosphere, just more dispersed so hopefully not so toxic.

        After the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster in Russia, there was a radioactive cloud that likewise caused sickness downwind. Another case of dangerous toxic fallout.

        Likewise, a human-made worldview can be as impressive as a giant smokestack or powerful as a nuclear plant, yet have devastating fallout for those who are deceived by it. How we see the world affects how we act, what decisions we make, the priorities we set in life. Two prominent worldviews today are materialism and humanism. In materialism, matter (stuff) is viewed as what's "really real"; life is a bunch of randomly colliding molecules, with no definite origin and no predictable future. The spiritual is dismissed as - well - immaterial. God is seen as an untrue concept; the universe just is. In the worldview of humanism, there is no room for God either; but what really matters is not matter itself but humans becoming "self-actualized", completely fulfilled.

        Both these worldviews can give quite a thrill at first, cutting one free from moral constraints, and such old-fashioned concepts as "guilt" and "damnation". But the fallout from either is deadly. With materialism, one winds up with a very meaningless existence; one feels very alone in such a cold mechanical universe; it's hard to develop any governing social philosophy beyond "might makes right" and "survival of the fittest"; "get as much as you can, while you can." With humanism, the world becomes a collection of competing selves. All that matters is getting my way, developing my full potential; and what gives anybody else the right to try to tell me what to do? There is no incentive to make any lasting improvement for the human race beyond my own brief few years. Ultimately both worldviews result in despair and emptiness, they can't address anything about eternal meaning or destiny; and we're born with a soul that cries out and yearns for more, "there must be something beyond this!"

        Christianity though does maintain there is another picture of life. As we begin our "40 Days of Purpose" working through Rick Warren's book The Purpose-Driven Life (or 'PDL'), we find there are four concepts in particular highlighted that make the Biblical worldview different from materialism or humanism. These aren't new; in fact they go back to the church's earliest shared statement of belief, the Apostles' Creed.

God made heaven and earth

PDL starts off with the statement, "It's not about you" - that is, "It all starts with God." The key verse, Col.1:16b says, "Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him." It's about God, not us, because God started it all, He made the heavens and the earth. Ps.24:1, "The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are His." Paul asks the Corinthians (1Cor.4:7b), "What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished "From one man He made every nation,...and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." The author of a work has the rights over it, what happens to it; so all created life belongs to the Creator. Rev.4(11a) says, "You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power. For you created everything."

        PDL presents positive and negative arguments for God's existence. Positive, from scientists' observations of the intelligent design and marvelous balanced complexity of creation. Human molecular genetics researcher Dr Michael Denton says, "All the evidence available in the biological sciences supports the core proposition...that the cosmos is a specially designed whole with lie and mankind as its fundamental goal and purpose, a whole in which all facets of reality have their meaning and explanation in this central fact." Specially designed is the key phrase - not by random chance, but due to the conscious act of an intelligent Creator.

        The negative argument comes from the failure of other philosophies to provide a truly satisfactory meaning of life otherwise. Atheist Bertrand Russell admitted, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless." And this is an atheist saying this! Likewise Russian novelist Andrei Bitov describes his birth into faith out of a barren atheistic Communist regime. "...While riding the metro...I was overcome with a despair so great that life seemed to stop at once, preempting the future entirely, let alone any meaning. Suddenly, all by itself, a phrase appeared: Without God life makes no sense. Repeating it in astonishment, I rode the phrase up like a moving staircase, got out of the metro and walked into God's light."

Resurrection and life everlasting

The fact that God is really there is the first pillar of the Christian worldview. That's how life originates. Second is the issue of where life's going. Materialism and humanism propose a disappointing, limited, flash-in-the-pan nihilism - snuffed out. Christianity believes in "the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting". PDL Day 4 is titled "Made to Last Forever" and begins by saying, "This life is not all there is...You will spend far more time on the other side of death - in eternity - than you will here." Paul tells the Corinthians (2Cor.5:1), "When this tent we live in - our body here on earth - is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever." Our proof of this is the resurrection of Jesus, which is why the eyewitness testimony of the first apostles - even under pain of death - is so valuable. PDL emphasizes life is a "temporary assignment". The Psalmist (Ps.39:4) prays, "Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away." Peter (1Pet.1:17) directed, "If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth." And Paul said, "We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives." (Php.3:19f) Because this life is passing, we ought to use things without becoming attached to them, "for this world and all it contains will pass away" (1Cor.7:31).

        PDL comments, "The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Jesus, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world. It also explains why some of God's promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seems unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair. This is not the end of the story."

Jesus shall judge the living and the dead

Not only does Scripture say there are bookends to existence - our origin in God and our destiny in eternity - it attaches real value and significance to our every action here and now through the concept of judgment. As the Creed puts it, "From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead." With materialism, everything just is, it's the law of tooth and claw. With humanism, relativism reigns supreme - "have it your way", "different strokes for different folks"; there's no such thing as real guilt or sin, everything is explained by and blamed upon the environment or circumstances in which we grew up. We're to tolerate weird behaviour of every kind, and never be so insensitive as to make value judgments.

        The Bible though maintains that there is a Being whose opinion in the end matters more than our own. God has told us through the prophets, apostles, and His Son what He expects from us and will hold us accountable for how we respond to that knowledge. PDL notes, "What ultimately matters most will not be what others say about your life but what God says." It tells the story of James Dobson who had the goal to become the school tennis champion. He felt proud when his trophy was prominently placed in the school's trophy cabinet. Years later, someone found that trophy in a trashcan when the school was remodeled, and mailed it to him. Dobson concluded, "Given enough time, all your trophies will be trashed by someone else!"

        PDL states, "One day you will stand before God, and He will do an audit of your life, a final exam, before you enter eternity. The Bible says (Rom.14:10b,12), 'Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God...Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God.'" The prime question God will be asking is, "What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?" For Jesus Himself was so unrelativistic and unpluralistic as to say point-blank, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

        Life is a test, a measuring, God is valuing our response to His invitation and commands. There is something promised that makes the testing worthwhile. James (1:12) said, "Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him." Jesus told a parable representing this in which the master says to the servant, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness." (Mt.25:21) PDL notes here an affirmation, a promotion, and a celebration.

        One of the bluntest passages in the book states, "While life on earth offers many choices, eternity offers only two: heaven or hell. Your relationship to God on earth will determine your relationship to him in eternity. If you learn to love and trust God's Son, Jesus, you will be invited to spend the rest of eternity with him. On the other hand, if you reject his love, forgiveness, and salvation, you will spend eternity apart from God forever." What a choice! How much better to choose knowing God, and experiencing heaven! Paul told the Corinthians (1Cor.2:9), "No mere man has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord."

        This idea of judgment means what we do, matters. PDL says, "...there are eternal consequences to everything you do on earth. Every act of our lives strikes some chord that will vibrate in eternity." As Matthew Henry said, "It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day."

Forgiveness of Sins, Holy Spirit re-birth

The final pillar I want to mention today has two sides: the forgiveness of sins (washing out the dirty glass) and rebirth through the Holy Spirit (filling the glass with living water). There's no such thing as "sin" in materialism because matter isn't responsible, it just is. And in humanism, woe to anyone who tries to foist their ideas of moral value onto me! I am king in my own little universe, unanswerable to anyone.

        But the Bible posits there is such a thing as real sin, because there is real judgment: an intelligent, reasonable, holy God has standards for us to live by. Rejecting His path is sin. PDL says, "All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory.It is loving anything else more than God." As Rom.3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

        But we are not condemned to remain in sin with no other option. God has provided a solution in His perfect substitute, Jesus; He is the remedy for our sins. PDL says, "Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you've done, God wants to forgive you." "God specializes in giving people a fresh start.The Bible says (Ps.32:1), 'What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven!...What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record.'"

        The ancient creed states, "I believe in the Holy Spirit" as well as "the forgiveness of sins". Once we are born into God's family (by trusting Jesus), he wants us to grow to spiritual maturity. Here's where the Holy Spirit starts shaping us. 2Cor.3(18) says, "As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more."

Communion a Picture of the New Real Order

The Lord Jesus left us a remarkable symbol that implies much of this distinct Christian worldview - a symbol He commanded us to observe often: communion, or the Lord's Supper. Note first that there is more here than meets the eye, more than just matter. God is present; Christ's word attaches His presence to the bread and juice. "This is My body." "Do this in remembrance of Me." (1Cor.11:24)

        The special meal reminds us that this life is not all there is; Christ's followers anticipate a banquet with Him in eternity. Jesus spoke of drinking wine next "that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's Kingdom." (Mt.26:29)

        The fact that we gather to eat this sacrament together becomes a sign to the world that judgment is coming; by doing this, we're announcing the need to be ready for Christ's return and judgment. Paul wrote, "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." (1Cor.11:26)

        And at the very centre of the meal is the offer of forgiveness for sins. Jesus said this was "my blood - poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Mt.26:28) So in addition to the Apostle's Creed, the Lord's Supper is another symbol that summarizes the key features that make Christianity a worldview whose fallout can be purpose and hope rather than emptiness and despair.

Jackie Chan and "The Team": gauging what's inside a person

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