The Ultimate Purpose

Good Morning,

There are endless religious, political, and philosophical ideologies scattered across the globe, but my question is, what do you hope for?

What do you hope to accomplish? What do your philosophies offer others? Whether they are political or philosophical, what can you offer the cancer patient? What can you offer the widow? What can you offer the poor? 

A dedicated Christian can offer something more wonderful than words can describe. I have preached to 2,000 high school students in the Philippines, young people who, for the most part, will never live beyond a meager existence. They will probably end up working in a sugarcane field and having just enough rice for the day, and never even considering the idea of indoor plumbing, a car, or a vacation.  I can talk to that group of teenagers and tell them how to have a wonderful eternal home. I can tell them of the sin and shame that have destroyed their country. I can tell them of a Savior Who died for them, bearing their sins in His Own body.  What do we, as Christians, have to offer the world?  A personal relationship with the creator of the universe! Nothing urgent or important like getting solar panels mandated on new construction sites or requiring a certain percentage of the cars to be electric – what eternal value does that have?

I would like to introduce a group of people from India, who live where poverty and unemployment range to 90% in some villages, where the death of children is as common as the death of both parents, leaving children to abject poverty, prostitution, or worse.  Telling that group of people about the golden streets and mansions is extremely valuable. Let me bring a group of Christian young people to the streets, to the colleges, and to the high schools of a third-world nation (where a pen and paper are a luxury) to tell them of the city that does not need the sun – for Jesus lights the entire city! Let our young people tell them of the glory and wonder of a city with walls and buildings, constructed like giant prisms, reflecting the most glorious light and immersing the entire city with beauty beyond words.

What do people who have invented some new medical procedure that lengthens life hope for? Death is still inevitable, and the reality of eternity is absolute. I am certainly in favor of developing ideas that help with health and care for humanity, but what hope do they have even if all of their ideas come to fruition?

What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?

What is the hope of a young couple who get married and bring children into the world? This is a wonderful scenario; the joys in the anticipation are indescribable, but where will that little child go when he dies? When that little child buries his mother and father, will he have any idea or hope of seeing his parents again?

If you are not an active Christian, what hope does your career offer? No matter how good the financial situation or quality of education, what hope do you offer to your children?  What hope do you offer to your spouse or your children if there is nothing to hope for after death? 

What hope does a person have who boasts of millions of followers on social media?  What long-term hope does someone have who maintains a high batting average or breaks some NBA scoring record?

Always consider the end. What is the goal, ultimately?

What is the hope at the end? What long-term or eternal help does this event offer to others?

I might pay my bills by driving a garbage truck or building houses, but I would like my life to be part of offering hope to someone for eternity.

One cannot ignore the simplicity of passing out tracts, teaching a Sunday school class, or working for the Lord in another ministry.

Pastor