The Pastor’s Piece – June 11, 2023

The Pastor’s Piece

FCFI

June 11, 2023

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then using God’s great gifts, Satan brought forth Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and Krispy Kreme Donuts. And Satan said, “You want chocolate with that?” And Man said, “Yes!” and Woman said, “and as long as you’re at it, add some sprinkles.” And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled. 

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14. So God said, “Try my fresh green salad.” And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast. 

God then said, “I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them.” And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof. God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it “Angel Food Cake,” and said, “It is good.”  Satan then presented chocolate cake and named it “Devil’s Food.”

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds. Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthy skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds. God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan introduced McDonald’s and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, “You want fries with that?” And Man replied, “Yes! And super size them!” And Satan said, “It is good.” And Man went into cardiac arrest. God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan brought forth the HMO.

Life is a funny thing.  Like the story above, at times it seems we just go in circles.  The sun comes up, we scurry around trying to meet all our obligations, then we fall into bed at night only to repeat the process again tomorrow. In the Bible, King Solomon wondered about the meaning of life.  In the first chapter of Ecclesiastes he writes, “generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.  The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.  The wind blows to the south and turns to the north, round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.  All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full…All things are wearisome, more than one can say.”

So what is the meaning of life?  And what is our purpose here on earth?  Those questions have been debated since the inception of mankind.  The humanist believes that we are here by chance – that life is the result of something that popped into existence from nothing and exploded. As a result, stars and planets then allegedly formed; from pond scum, life arose from non-life.  The humanist believes that this original life form evolved into more and more complex things by randomly adding useful information into the genome for hair, eyes, lungs, etc. to arrive, at least for now, at man; and when you die, there is nothing and nothing mattered. The humanist’s final authority is self – and self’s ideas.

The Christian, on the other hand, believes that God created everything perfect, but man ruined it with sin (rejecting God’s authority), so death and suffering came into the world, and the Curse is now in effect. Since death was the punishment for sin, a perfect sacrifice was needed, and Christ, who is God and loved us enough to give Himself, came down to die in our place to offer the gift of eternal life with a good God who loves us. He will create a new heaven and new earth, and the curse will be removed. The Christian’s final authority is God and His Word.

We all have the same facts. We live on the same earth, we look at the same rocks and fossils and so on. How we interpret those facts is directly influenced by our presuppositions. If we start out with a naturalistic presupposition, then we will interpret the facts devoid of God. If we start out with a biblical presupposition, we will see the facts as including the Creator’s work.  How we define the meaning of life is directly related to our presuppositions. If we are the result of a Big Bang, then the meaning of life isn’t much.  But if we have been created by a God who made us in His image, and loves us, and has a plan to prosper us, and who gives us strength in our weaknesses and works all things together for good – then life means a lot.  Our day-to-day activities are important. A right relationship with our Creator is of the utmost.

The Bible says that our ultimate purpose in life is to bring glory to our Creator – “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  That means that as we go about our daily activities, we are to consciously remember who has given us the work of our hands to enjoy. It means we are to consciously remember that all our blessings come from God above – “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves.”  And it means we are to consciously praise Him for His handiwork.  Oh, I almost forgot, it also means we tell others of His goodness – “Tell the next generation detail by detail the story of God,” (Psalm 48:13). 

In Acts 13 Paul tells us, “when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.” God has given you a purpose in life for your generation.  Wouldn’t you like to stand before your Creator one day, and be able to hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant?” I think we all want that.  

Solomon opened his book wondering about the meaning of life (above).  He closes it with these words: “Here is the conclusion to the matter:  Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

 “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.  I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

(Kevin Cernek is Lead Pastor of Martintown Community Church in Martintown, Wisconsin).