Perhaps living our lives is somewhat like the process of writing a term paper. Many people are rambling aimlessly through their lives, just trying to fill up space without making a meaningful or memorable statement. Their lives may be about living for the moment, but they do not manifest any sense of enduring purpose. They lack a focus, let alone a guiding thesis statement, and their lives are just passing at best. Others may have some themes that orient them, perhaps family, or a job, or leisure activities, but still no sense of deeper meaning for their lives.
To practice what I preach, before I go any further, I will identify the thesis of this book as the assertion that each of us is uniquely and specially created to live our lives for the purpose of knowing and living in communion with our Creator God, as well as for the purpose of making Him known to others. Such a “theistic statement” offers eternal meaning for our lives. We can do what I would not allow my students to do for an assignment, which is to let someone else write our story. Although I am suggesting that we should all aspire to the same thesis with God as the common Author of our lives, we can each offer a unique supporting argument reflecting our own personalities and experiences.
Although my thesis for this book will no doubt resonate with many readers, I realize that not everyone is prepared to accept the notion that he or she was created by a Supreme Being for a special purpose. Perhaps you doubt that there is a God who desires a personal relationship with you, or perhaps that there is a God at all. If that is you, I hope that you will keep reading and hear me out. Although I will share some thoughts about the existence and nature of God a little later, it is beyond the scope of this work to try to convince you that there is a Creator God. There are many excellent books of Christian apologetics that make the logical and evidentiary case for the existence of the God of the Bible, and I have identified a few in an appendix near the end of this book. Each of us must review the evidence and make our own determination on this crucial point.
As for myself, I have carefully considered the evidence and made my determination that there is a God who created everything. If there is a God who brought the universe and everything in it and beyond it into existence, then logically it would seem to follow that He created all of this for a purpose. In other words, we are not just some cosmic doodling because God was bored one day. The matter from which we are made matters. Furthermore, if God created us for a purpose, wouldn’t He make it possible for us to discover that purpose if we only look for it? Alas, it would also follow that there could be consequences for not fulfilling that purpose—eternal separation from our Creator perhaps. Regardless of whether or not you are inclined to believe in God and His intervention in our world through Jesus Christ, I hope that you will give due consideration to what you want your life to be about.
What good is writing if no one reads it? Although I received some satisfaction in expressing myself in a few dozen papers that I recently wrote for some graduate courses, I know that I would have been sorely disappointed if the professors had not at least read and commented on my efforts. When I knew that they shared my work with others, my satisfaction was compounded. I am confident that God is an avid reader of our works, and what lifework could be more satisfying to Him, or to us, than introducing others to the Author and Creator of the Universe, who fervently desires a personal relationship with them.
Although I require multiple sources of information for my students’ papers, we only need one source in our works cited, or bibliography—the work of Jesus Christ in obtaining salvation for our sinfulness. Each of our lives can offer unique supporting evidence of this Gospel message customized to our particular audience, those with whom we will interact in the course of our lives. So, there is no need to plagiarize, unless it is to copy the life of Jesus Christ, in which case, just be sure to give Him credit. Procrastination is one of the great enemies of writing project completion (as I have been reminded many times while trying to bring this book to fruition). There is no time like the present to get started, or to write a few more pages of His story through your life.
Oh, and as I preach to my students, proofread, proofread, proofread before submitting your work. Like any self-respecting teacher, I keep an abundant supply of red ink pens on hand. There is nothing better than brilliant red ink to call attention to commendations or corrections—no doubt the reason that the words of Jesus are often printed in red in the Bible. I have (mostly) joked with my students that if they made so many mistakes that I ran out of red ink, then I would require them to submit vials of their blood for me to use in marking their papers so that they might be more careful, or at least share my pain as their evaluator.
As the pages of your life unfold, may I suggest that you keep checking your work according to God’s style manual, the Holy Bible as annotated or explained to us by God’s Holy Spirit living within us.