Solidity of Purpose III

A general builds his soldiers up. They are preparing to battle the toughest enemy they have ever faced. As they paid millions of dollars, to get their largest force ever, everything seems to be ready. However, as they wait for the enemy a large tsunami comes upon the general's navy, an earthquake destroys the general's fortresses, an F-5 tornado tears apart the general's air forces, and a hail storm destroys the general's ground forces. Despite calculation and constant training this general found his efforts meaningless.

Chapter One: Questions...

What is meaningless, and what is meaningful? This general had fought against tough enemies all over the world. Yet as he prepared to face the best force around, his forces were wiped away by natural disasters despite his calculation. How often do we prepare for a storm because of a meteorologist's prediction only to face sunny weather for the entire week? How often do we train hard only to get injured as we train? How often do people who are foolish get rich only to waste their money? The truth is no matter what we do something will come to upset its balance making our work fall apart.

What do I speak of one may ask. However, it is quite simple to understand. I remember how I was a long time ago. Constantly, I strived to be the best in what I did. I work hard and slept very little to get ahead. I became very quick, agile, and strong. Then I got into a wrestling match and my left shoulder was pulled out of socket. Hours I ran after my arm had healed. I had become well endured. Then I fell off of the track only to sprain my ankle for a very long period of time. All of my efforts had become useless. I kept on pressing, but sometimes it is hard to press on when you are injured. Thus, I fell into a great sadness.

I saved up a lot of books only to have them damaged by a flood in my dorm room. I did my best to run from my past only to have it regurgitated in my face. I did so much to do a good job at work only to have someone else take credit for all of my hard work. What was all of this work for? Why did this cycle continue?

Even amongst this madness I kept my resolve. Continuously, I tried to live a clean life only to backslide tremendously in Korea and a little bit on Okinawa. I had set a great example for so long, and then I trashed all of the hard work that I did witnessing and trying to live right as I backslide. It was all a chasing after the wind as I know now. But there was a meaning behind it all.

I looked for meaning in the things I did with human eyes. However, human eyes are truly blind and foolish. Blinded by emotion they are... I am surprised that we can even see straight forward with all of the obstacles upon our eyes. How truly dark this world is if we looked through our own eyes upon our own accord. It is as foolish as depending on true goodness to come from a man. Chapter Two: Everything is Meaningless

These cycles will never end; in fact, they will continue to get worse. Or at least they will appear to be getting worse if we continue to look through human eyes searching for the temporal goodness of our work. I say this because our work is as good as dirty rags. Our work is filthy and pathetic. It is worthless if we view it in the wrong light. So is everything meaningless? Well read this excerpt from Solidity of Purpose first.

"Let me first say that wisdom is meaningless. It is a heavy burden among men to have wisdom. To chase after wisdom would be merely chasing after the wind. I say this because just as the writer of Ecclesiastes had found, I had also found that with much wisdom comes great sorrow. To have wisdom is to understand yourself as well as others. In this you learn how truly depraved man is. As you learn of this you wish to rest and go to heaven, but then you realize that the workers are few, and God has a task for you.

One would later think, "if chasing wisdom down is meaningless, then let me indulge in every pleasure my heart desires." But then you realize, emotions come and go. They are like the changing of seasons. And the only reward you receive is a good feeling. Thus when you continue to survey all that you have done, you realize that you have gained nothing under the sun. All that your hands had done was meaningless.

Later, you weigh out the benefits of both wisdom and folly. Obviously wisdom was worth far more than folly could ever imagine being. For the wise man has eyes and can see, while the fool is blind walking in the darkness. Then you realize something, "This too is meaningless. For the wise man like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool the wise man must die (Ecclesiastes 2:16).

As you reflect upon the meaning, what you can toil after, you come to realize that even your toil is meaningless. For your reward is great sorrow, a mixture of emotions, and death. You can't complain because you aren't even worthy of your own life, and you know you deserve death. Past all this you come to think, "If I work hard then my son will be rich enough for ten or more sons further down the road called "the future". Then you face the realization that your son could be wise or foolish, or you could be overtaken by a man who has not toiled, and you must leave your life long labor and hard work to a man whom you neither know to be wise or foolish.

A last, there is a time for everything. In life everything has its cycles, but in the end those cycles will mean nothing. In the end, God will only care about whether you accepted him or not. God will bring judgment to both the righteous and the wicked. For he who has gained the whole world still dies to be judged.

As you grow you soon realize that there is something that might mean something. This thing is true friendship. However, you understand that this too is meaningless, but you are better in life with friendship. It is a commonly known fact that two cords are stronger than one. Therefore, two men can carry a heavier burden. Two men toil less, and they stand stronger against an attack. So you try to make friendships because to be an oppressor you come to realize that you will later be oppressed.

Then you see more things arising. You say, "If I can be king things would be much different, I'd be so rich." Unfortunately you fail to notice that the way of the world is foolishness. And even if you are the best in the world, you are still surrounded by foolishness. This is important because you must comprehend that if you are with a fool you too will be hurt. Therefore, advancement is meaningless.

So I tell you stay in awe of God. Don't let riches entice you for they are meaningless. Seek true wisdom from Christ, because a good name in Christ is better than the finest wine in the universe. Obey God, for there is a common destiny for all, and we all know we can not escape it. Let wisdom impact your life, for it is better to die with your eyes open, than to die blind to the Truth. Work hard, so that you may reap the first fruits of your labor; in your youth give these first fruits to God and be blessed, because God will remember you if you love Him.

I tell you the truth, a relationship with God is worth more than anything. The meaning of life itself is to be with God and love others. It is your relationship with others that define your character and give you a name. So make your relationships strong give blessings, honor, and forgiveness to all that you know. God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." -As stated from Solidity of Purpose

This is the best way I can explain everything. I say this because these things in life we chase for amount to nothing. Therefore, if they are kept in the proper perspective in looking towards Christ and furthering His kingdom, then they become worth something in that they have a purpose and a goal. Without an eternal purpose and goal, then those things we chase after will always have a definite end and season.

Chapter Three: Ecclesiastes

What many fail to realize is that there is a season for everything. Why work for anything on this world you may ask. I do not mean to fill you with a sense of hopelessness. I know that this world tears away at your spirit, and I know it can be stressful. Sadly to say, to look at your deeds through your own eyes are worthless.

Here is what we see as we look at this earth. We see generations coming and going while earth still remains. We see the sun rise and set, only to rise again. The wind blows north and south. "The eye never has enough of seeing." Wisdom, folly, toil, oppression, advancement, and so on is all meaningless. Even in our life we are born to live a life full of emotion only to practice for death each day as we go to sleep.

What does this all mean? It means that we need to pull our head out of our rear. We need to see life for what it really is. Looking at life in humanistic thoughts makes me depressed. Sure there is a season for everything. Sure every act is meaningless in the wrong light. Now turn it all around like a flap jack and look at it from a different light.

Chapter Four: A Different Light

"Darn I just washed my car and it is now raining. I can't believe this," said a man in North Carolina. Meanwhile in a farmland in North Carolina a farmer kneels on his knees in his field. "Praise God, it finally rained, my crops will now grow more without me having to water them for a bit, and the vegetation is now more fertile," said the farmer. Now the farmer and his family can sleep easy knowing that the rain will help their crops.

On one side of this dilemma, the guy who spent all of his time washing his car has just wasted his day. The task he just preformed was absolutely meaningless. A day was wasted as said before. What can he do? This trouble benefited him not. However, the family on the farm had just had the biggest turn out of all of their crops. You think that this is awesome. Anyone who looks at both sides would say that a family's livelihood is more important than some rich person having a clean car. This is a different light.

Just when one thinks the cycle is figured out, then a curve ball is thrown to the batter. As a result of that rain, some farmer later has a large crop and makes so much money that he/she does not have too much more work to make his summer sales and growth. This is good right; the farmer can now make a lot of money. Sadly, the first days of summer produce a drought. As the time passes on, the fields stay dry all the way up until winter when they freeze over. It is a good thing that the farmer had worked during the most fertile time of the year where he/she received heavy rains. Thankfully, that extra production was just enough to provide for his needs. Looking at the farmer's point of view, he/she worked hard so that there would be abundance; unfortunately, all of the farmer's hard work was meaningless because he did not end up ahead, only he/she had just enough to get through.

As for that man with the nice car, the dry summer allows for him to accomplish some much needed repairs on his house. So, all summer long the man works on house repairs and spending time with his family. During the rainy spring he is at school teaching other people's children. The summer is the only real break that he ever receives, and he is thankful to God for his family time. Of course the farmer is upset because the dry weather forces him to not be able to make a triple profit off of the single profit he already received. So which is more important? Is the farmer making more money than he needs important or is the man's family and house repairs more important?

I know it sounds like I just tossed you in a circle. Yet, if you look at things for what they are in a different light, then they would go down smoother. In the examples above because of a simple cycle of the seasons, two people's needs were met in abundance. If there was more meaning to the bad things that happened, aside from the seasons coming and going, then these two men would have been thinking that they were doing something really wrong. We must all realize that things happen for a purpose, and it does not always mean we did something wrong. When things happen we sometimes need to get over ourselves and take a look outside the forest to see a forest and not just the branches of a few trees.Chapter Five: Repetition

Repetition is what our life is. The world does revolve around you, and every other living being on this earth. Without an outside end all our lives are would be a means to an end. This means that all that what we do is to facilitate a condition, and this is a condition that will repeat itself. As for our lives, without a God then this would mean that we are just on a straight line going forward only to end so that another line will repeat the very same redundant pattern.

To believe that there is no outside creator means that one believes the world revolves around each individual with no end. This means that when we marry and have sex that there is no meaning behind it. It is merely a cycle created to facilitate the continuation of the cycle of life. This means that when we eat that we are merely eating to become hungry again. This means that when we sleep, we merely sleep to sleep again the next day. It even says that our live are meaningless, for it would mean that we are born only to die and this is are journey. I must say, it does take a lot of faith to believe that with all of the seconds we put into life that we can take in one second and it means absolutely nothing.

Now, to believe that there is creator means that one believes that the world revolves around each individual in that it was made for us out of love or for some type of predetermined reason. It also means that one believes that the world in actuality revolves around and belongs to the creator ultimately. This means that when we eat we eat to sustain ourselves so that we can push toward a goal that we must accomplish as we live on. This means that our life is not just repetition of a redundant cycle, for it is the completion of a journey for something and with this journey there is an ultimate truth. With these things in mind it also means that there are ethical rules surpassing morals and that there is a right and wrong way for everything.

In truth, our lives are just repetition if we look at them for the cycles that we live in daily. If we believe that there is no creator than we believe that everything we do is a means to an end. So I ask, does life feel like a journey, or is it a means to an end for you? Is everything meaningless for you to seek only pleasure? Or does your life have a purpose to it?

Chapter Six: To Find Yourself

In Solidity of Purpose I said this:

"If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." (John 21:22) In our life we are given one mission. This mission is to develop a relationship with God and to tell the world about Christ. The means however change. For example in the verse above Jesus was telling Peter not to worry about what everyone else was doing or what God is doing for them, only worry about what God has for him. Long story short, everyone is given their own spiritual blessing in Christ. With these blessings we must give thanksgiving and prayer. For we were made alive in Christ, and all of our gifts help to comprise the body of Christ; therefore, we are one in Christ. Just as Paul preached to the Gentiles and prayed for the Ephesians, we must also preach to the lost and pray to God for others knowing that Christ has a specific task for us all, and we are to be individually accountable for those gifts that God gave us. It is to be realizing that there is unity in the body of Christ. "We must be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love, because there is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ appointed it." (Ephesians 4:2, 4:4-7) We must be living as children of the light, or imitators of God. We must live a life of love just as Christ loved us, while submitting to Christ, as a wife must submit to her husband, and a husband loves his wife. We must obey God, as children must obey their parents, and know that God will not provoke you. Ephesians leaves us with this message, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devils schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:10-12) -As stated from Solidity of Purpose

In further examination, do you believe that you are lost? If you believe in the simple disbelief of a creator, then when your friend died it truly meant nothing. Soon you will die, and your friend's death means nothing to anyone else so he will die with you and all of those who knew him. Oh and by the way, all of you will be forgotten and remembered by none. This belief means that your existence was finite and you had never had a purpose but to die. If there is no creator than you truly are lost because your existence depends upon the memory of others whose existence also depends upon your memories. So I ask you, "If a ship that depends on the crew and the crew depends on the ship then what happens to both if the crew dies and the ship sinks. They both cease to float upon the ocean. This friend is the condition we are all in without a creator, for this ship would be planet earth, and we are the crew. If we can't stay alive long enough to tell the next where the earth has been or is going then we are all truly lost with no answers.

If we believe in a creator, then this means that we are no longer totally lost without any hope. It means that those actions at which we accomplish have a goal for eternity. They may fade away on the earth, but to use all that we have to tell and guide another person, who is also holding an eternal soul, means that we helped God's word. To believe in a creator is to believe that there is a right and a wrong way to live. It is to believe in eternity. This also means that all people born and unborn have a purpose and a goal in life. Finally, it means that our life is like a race and our struggles are the pain of endurance that we must endure to attain a future goal. Therefore you are no longer lost in a void uselessly floating about upon a ship with other people that will eventually sink.

So now which option do you believe? If you believe that there is no creator, then I must regretfully inform you that you are lost and going no where. I say of you, enjoy life while you live it still. Do what you think is right. You will be rewarded for your deeds while you still live. Also remember, even though you live on a wicked world and you will face consequences of the actions of others, then I say live just so that you may not die from the death that immorality brings.

If you do not accept that this life is worthless. If you do not want to believe that life is a consistent cycle, then ask yourself this one question. If this life does have a creator, then what does that mean? How do I find myself and my purpose?

To accept a reality where there is a creator than that means to find your self and purpose you must go to the source. Why? I say this because when you want to know why 3x1=3, then you can not do it if you take away the three. For x1 does not =3 by itself or a random equation. This means you see a three and want to know why the 3 is present. To find an answer to any problem you must go to the source. Then you can find out why the 3 exists.

Once you consider the source then you must find out the rules of the equation. An equation does not exist boundlessly without rules and parameters. For example, a computer has programs that run upon it. What happens when a single function steps out of the parameters? In this, either the program freezes, corrupts, or crashes the computer. As well, 3x1 does not equal 4, .333333333, or 2, for it equals 3. This means that there is a rule for 3x1 to equal 3. To believe in a creator means that you believe not only in a source, but you believe in boundaries such as the ones that were created just as the watch and the computer has rules and boundaries. Once you come to the thought that your life has boundaries, rules, and a purpose, then at this moment you have found yourself. For once you know that you are 3 and that 3x1= you, then you know where you are on the equation of life.

To put it into perspective, you are God's answer to an equation. This equation is called creation. Creation made by the creator can only have one reason, and this reason is to have a strong relationship with the creator. Once this primary goal is met then everything is completed. For an equation is never complete without an answer. However, do know that even if one 3 drops away from the equation, it still equals 3; thus, if you choose to leave or not be a part of the equation, then there will be another answer to the equation equaling three. This means that you are special, but if you choose to give up all that you are given then you choose to let another inherit what you have been given. In the end of course, it is not selfish to entrust all that you have to the creator because if you were created by an infinite being, then that being must have an infinite amount of gifts, ability, care, and whatever you need to meet all of your special needs and troubles.

Chapter Seven: Conclusion.

"At the end, when God decides to reveal himself, this world will be ripe for His judgments. It will be one like a Son of Man who will reveal Himself. Remember the seven statements. Do not forsake your first love, remembering the height at which you will fall; if you do this then repent and do the things you did first. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer, for the Devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for a number of days; if this happens, then be faithful, even to the point of death, and you will receive the crown of life. Nevertheless, do not have people hold to the teaching of a false God; if this is happening then rebuke the teaching and repent, otherwise, when He comes God will take the sword of His mouth to these people. Once again, do not take the teachings of false prophets, for they will mislead, and they will be cast upon the bed of suffering, as well all those who have followed they will meet unfortunate ends because of their sins; if you fall into these things you can turn around and repent for your sins, God will forgive. As for others, awaken and strengthen what remains and is about to die for your deeds may not have been found complete in God's sight; remember, therefore what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. For those who have lasted, keep God's command to endure patiently; hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown. And those who are lukewarm, be hot, or you will be spat out of His mouth; if you are lukewarm then buy from Him gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich, and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes so you can see." -As stated by Solidity of Purpose

If you believe in a creator, then what if this above statement is true? Do you want to chance it? Or do you want to remain blissfully ignorant until the end comes upon you. Truth is whether you believe that you are standing in the middle of a street or not you are still in the middle of the street, and to not know where you are is what being lost is all about. If a bus starts to head towards you and you still believe you are not in the middle of the street then you will still get hit by that bus.

I could bore you by telling you that the questions are answered. I can be redundant and say that everything is meaningless without God. Ecclesiastes does contain some wisdom. Look at things from a different light. Life is not about repetition, it is about finding yourself, and who you are.

What about that general you ask. The truth is that even with all of the training he had given his men; they were not good enough to face up against the enemy force they prepared for. If that general would have attacked that army then he would have been in a war that would last for generations only to lose even more then what he lost during the natural disasters. To end it all, this means that if we believe in a creator then he would only have our best interests at heart. Do you build something only to enjoy it? Won't you throw away you own gifts once they lose value. Well a creator must be better than the creation. Sometimes, a greater love is letting a person choose whether or not they want to live for you or for death. What do you choose to do?

Epilogue

The question of life meaning may remain a question. One can not say they know who they are until they know where they came from. Do you believe in a creator accepting the reality of a purpose driven life? Do you believe in no creator and random chance where the end is just the end, living in a reality of a ship floating around soon to not exist anymore simply because it sank?