Looking for God? Church? Religion? Purpose?
by Stephen Bastin
Needles are not usually found in haystacks.
They are found in the sewing basket.
Good grades are not usually found in all-night parties.
They are found in serious study sessions.
Good husbands are not usually found in bars.
They are found at work or in church.
If you look in the wrong place you are not likely to find
what you are looking for. If you are
looking in the right place and understand exactly what you are looking for, it
may be found.
A problem is found in looking for the wrong thing.
For example, looking for happiness will usually only produce unhappiness.
Looking for friends will usually only produce indifference.
Happiness and friends are most often found by looking for something else.
Righteousness will usually produce happiness and being caring about other
people will usually produce friends.
Looking for a church, for a religion, for a purpose are
not usually found by looking for those things themselves.
At least not the right church or religion, not even the best purpose.
They are found by first of all finding God.
Not some cheap imitation, not some idol, but the true and living God.
But how does one go about finding the true God?
The search begins by examining the things that God has made.
There are two things that need to be examined.
The first is the universe that God has created.
The second is the Bible that God has caused to be written.
The power of God is evident from the vast powers that are
on display throughout the universe. The
volcanic eruptions, the earthquakes, the potential in atomic energy, all of
these testify to the power of God who created all these forces.
The wisdom of God is seen in examining all the details of
the creation. Scientists have spent
centuries in unraveling the relationships of all the created things.
Science works because there is order in the creation.
The earth continues to circle the sun once a year.
The earth turns on its axis once every 24 hours with a regularity that
cannot be exceeded by any device invented by man.
Plants and animals reproduce according to fixed laws that scientists can
now understand.
The creation testifies to a God who is all-powerful and
all-wise. But creation cannot tell
us about the character of God. For
that we need a further revelation. God
has provided that for us in the Bible. The
Bible is the second thing that God has created.
The Bible begins with a statement that God created the
heavens and the earth. It does not
set out to prove there is a God. What
exists must have a Creator. The
purpose of the Bible is first of all to tell us about the God who created
everything.
One of the things the Bible does is to present evidence
that it is from God. This is done
especially through the prophecies that are in the Bible.
There are particular prophecies about nations such as
Israel, Egypt and Babylon that may be verified by circumstances that exist in
our world today. There are other
prophecies about cities such as Jerusalem, Babylon, Nineveh and Tyre that may
also be verified by circumstances that exist today.
There are also dozens of prophecies of Jesus that were fulfilled when he
came hundreds of years after the prophecies.
Through the stories told in the Bible, the character of
God is revealed. He is a just God.
When He makes a law and prescribes a punishment, you may be sure He will
do exactly what He has said. Because
of God’s justice one may always know exactly what to expect from God’s
judgment.
Because He makes laws, we know that He is a moral God.
With God there is a right and there is a wrong.
Moral obligations are set in the will of God, not the will of man.
Customs (society) may dictate that certain things may or may not be done.
Such matters change from generation to generation and from society to
society. The moral judgments of God
apply to every society and every generation.
There is an absolute standard of right and wrong.
God is also a compassionate God.
One aspect of His compassion is that He has provided a way for people to
be forgiven. The plan for
forgiveness is both simple and fair.
The Bible also describes God as a jealous God and as a God
who gets angry. The occasions of His
jealousy and His anger are predictable based on circumstances that will always
produce those responses from God. That
is one of the differences that sets apart God’s jealousy and anger from the
jealousy and anger of people. There
are other differences as well.
Since there is a moral God who created people to be like
Him, it follows that our purpose in life must be consistent with God’s design
for us. Cars do not do well when
hitched to plows for cultivating a field. Neither
do tractors do well on cross country trips.
In neither case is the equipment being used in a way consistent with its
designer’s plans.
The same is true for people.
We do not do well when we try to live in a way that is wrong, that does
not meet with God’s approval. The
book of Ecclesiastes describes the futile search of a man who sought purpose in
life apart from God. “Vanity of
vanities! All is vanity.”
His life was wasted. It was
vain, useless.
Whether searching for God, a church, a religion or a
purpose, the Bible is a good place to begin.
We are a Bible preaching, Bible believing congregation.
We invite you to join us in a search for the truth that alone can save
us. We will never demand that you
believe anything contrary to God’s Word. We
will expect you to live by God’s standard.
That is all that we expect of each other.
We meet at East School in Torrington.