“But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me.” (1 Corinthians 14:11 NLT)
Having visited other countries I understand, at least in part, the frustration of not being able to speak to a person in their native language. On some levels the frustration is magnified when we speak to someone who understands the language, and they use familiar words, but their words have different meanings.
For example, I have friends who belong to the LDS church who speak to me about Jesus, salvation, the church, and many other Biblical concepts and teachings, but what they’re saying and what they mean by those words are very different than the words as they are used in the Bible.
Similarly, in our world today more and more people are losing their way because they fail to find meaning in what they’re experiencing in their life. While their lives are filled with better means of communication than ever, more people are lonely and finding less reasons to want to be alive. Knowing how to function as a human being and how to have purpose and meaning for being alive are two very different things.
John Stonestreet spoke to this in a recent Breakpoint: “In a culture broken and enmeshed by meaninglessness, double damage is done to these hurting souls. If we hope to prevent our neighbors from dying too soon, we’ll first have to help them answer the question: ‘What is there to live for?’. A life without meaning will remain empty, no matter how much we try to fill it with prosperity, status, technological gadgets, ‘autonomy,’ infinite choice, and distraction.”
Realizing there are many in the Body of Christ who are suffering, it’s important to acknowledge that suffering isn’t an unbeliever’s plight. Pain and suffering aren’t punishment for disobeying God, and we’re not exempt from them because of our faith in Jesus.
Pain and suffering are a part of the fabric of human existence this side of the fall of man, but meaning isn’t found in health, prosperity, or busyness. True meaning is found in following the One who is life and light and love – the Lord Jesus.
Stonestreet continues: “To borrow from Thomas Aquinas, an increasingly secular culture removes any real conviction we have that it’s even possible to “share in the goodness of God.” Thus, it’ll take the Church, both as an institution and as individuals, to reach those who are hurting. Remaining open to our own pains and struggles, we can place them within a larger framework of meaning and hope. Christians, too, battle with despair but while knowing it will not have the final word. Christ does, so hope does.
Living for something that is visible is to ultimately be disappointed and or disillusioned. Everything that is visible to our human eyes has an expiration date, including this earth. Only what is seen by the eye of faith will last forever. Investing our lives in service to Jesus has merit and benefit while we’re living on this planet, but the real rewards for our faith journey are given when we leave this life.
There are those in our families and spheres of influence who are hopeless and despairing of life. We, as God’s children, have the answer, but many today are confused and hurting to the point they no longer feel they have a reason to live. There are more people taking their own life or seeking help in ending their life than ever before.
But please listen, child of God, for God has positioned us, not only geographically, but in terms of this time in history, to be a voice of hope to those who have no hope and who believe they no longer have anything for which to live. Please be sensitive to those around you who may need a caring word, a loving touch, or a voice of hope, and determine to be those things for the ones the Lord puts in your path.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 