And the Answer is:

God

By JOSEPH HARRIS

E-Mail: joharris@comcast.net

There are three great questions in life that have been asked by philosophers, preachers, humanists, scientists, farmers, and well, basically, people from all walks in life have asked these questions.  From where did I come?  Where am I going?  What is my purpose?

Though phrased differently by some, those are the main questions asked when searching for truth and the meaning of life.  At the risk of sounding simplistic and unscholarly (which is not difficult for me to do) I say the answer to all three questions is God.  Let me explain by asking the questions again.

From where did man come?  What is the origin of man?  There are really only two options for this one. They are:

God - God is creator of everything.  As Paul states in Acts 17, when preaching to the intellectuals on Mars Hill, God is the author of plant life, animal life, human life and eternal life.  God created the dirt, then made man from the dirt.

We are sustained and nourished from the dirt.  Both plants and animals get nourishment from the dirt and man eats plants and animals.  Everything we eat is nothing more than chemically changed dirt.

Goo - Or maybe we came from nothing that exploded, then formed at the right temperature, on the right planet, in the right substance, at the right time.  Maybe life came from the random chance of proteins and acids that formed into a goo, which then produced a cell which then evolved into a cluster of cells, and then grew, eventually, into Grampa.  Than again, maybe not.

What is the purpose of man?  Again, there are only two options for answers and they are:

Glorify God - To live for God is to put Him first in all decisions and actions.  He is to be the center of your thinking and philosophy of life.  He is to be acknowledged and worshipped daily, bowing to His will in all matters, events, and circumstances.

Glorify Self - You either live for yourself or someone else.  You tend to the needs of others or yourself.  In serving others, we serve God.  In serving self, we glorify self and not God.  Self must be dethroned and God enthroned.

Where is man going?  And again, there are two basic answers which are:

Glory - The eternal presence of God is the ultimate destination of the believer.  After death and judgment, then the eternal presence of God will be enjoyed by all believers on a new earth in a new Heaven.  There is no other destiny, except:

Grave - By grave, I mean more than a burial plot.  I am speaking of death, hell and the grave, or the second death.  All the lost in hell will eventually be delivered to the great white throne judgment, then be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.

They will then be FOREVER separated from God, yet retain a state of consciousness. The knowledge and experience of eternal separation from God is the greatest punishment of the lost.

When GOD is the answer to life's three greatest questions, then hope abounds.  To use a cliche, NO GOD, NO HOPE; KNOW GOD, KNOW HOPE.

(This article may be reprinted in whole, as long as the name Joseph Harris and

www.miniedition.net also appear)