Your alarm goes off, waking you up out of a nice, peaceful sleep. You feel like just going back to sleep. You don’t want to get out of bed. You don’t want to face the day. You ask yourself: Why do I even have to get up? What’s the point?
Do you sometimes also feel like that?
Life can feel heavy at times. Things like money problems, pressure from friends, difficult relationships, school, or work can feel like really great burdens. You maybe watch the news and afterwards only feel upset at how badly things are in the world. What is the point of it all?
“We’re born. We go to school so we can get a job. We get a job so we can earn money. We earn money so we can survive. We survive so that we can go to our job.” It is just an endless circle repeating itself over and over.
What is the point?
That’s how I used to think. Life was just the same struggle every day, and it felt empty and pointless. I didn’t think that anything I did would ever truly make a difference, and I felt that my life had no true meaning. Even when I was doing something “good” I still felt empty inside.
I knew there should be another meaning in life. I thought about the normal things that most people live for – family, friends, their work, money, etc. – and I knew that even if I got all those things it would never give me the real meaning I was seeking. Although all those things might bring me a bit of happiness, they’ll just last for a time. Inside me the emptiness would still be there. I had begun to doubt that I would ever truly be happy or find meaning in life. I wondered, “what is the point of life?”
I had always gone to church ever since I was a child. I knew I wanted to be a Christian and be a “good person”, but I found that after a time this too felt pointless as I was still left with an emptiness that I couldn’t explain. It was when I was at a Christian conference that I finally got an answer.
The speaker explained that we can change, we can become a new person, we can become part of the bride of Christ that is holy and without fault (1 Peter 1:19.) What a wonderful opportunity we have to be in the bride of Christ and become a new person!
The missing piece
That was what I had been missing! I could become someone new, I could change. As I sat there I knew that I didn’t like who I was according to my human nature – my selfish habits, my hasty reactions, how I so easily judged others. This is deep within my nature, but with Jesus’ help I can become free from these things and get a completely new nature – a godly nature! That is the point of life.
“By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine [godly] nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:4 (CSB).
I hadn’t understood it before, but the emptiness that I had felt inside was actually a deep longing for something eternal. For something of true value and worth that wouldn’t go away. When this became clear to me it gave me a whole new view on life. Instead of just doing “daily duties” and just making it through the day, I could see each day as an opportunity to change and get something eternal!
If I am to be part of the bride of Christ (Revelation 21:9) it means that I have to know Jesus. How do I get to know Him? By following Him, by saying No to my own will and doing God’s will when I come into trials and temptations, just as He did.
“Jesus said to everyone, "All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23 (CEB).
An active ongoing work
In my daily situations, God can show me things about myself that need to change. I maybe reacted badly here; I was maybe trying to flatter someone there, etc. When I see and admit these things I can actively do something with it, I can be more awake next time I come in the same situation. In this way, I am walking the same way that Jesus walked when He was on earth. This is the way to godly nature.
“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.
As I go throughout my day I can pray that I do not just see the everyday situations I am in, but that I see the eternal value that I can get from those situations. (Ephesians 1:18.) Everything that God sends my way is an opportunity to become free from my own sinful desires, and get more of the fruits of the Spirit.
When I come into a situation where I see something in myself that I know is sinful, I can pray to Jesus for strength to say No to the thing I see in myself. When I do this in every situation that God sends me, I will change, little by little, and become more and more like Him. I am being prepared for eternity.
“The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever.” 1 John 2:17 (GNT).
Life is not about what job I do or what my daily circumstances are, but about using the situations God gives me to be changed from the way I am into a completely new person! This gives me a reason to get out of bed every morning! This brings true meaning to my life!
“We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NCV).