by Todd Elder at Exploring Creation
Like most people, I have had times in my life when I had to try and answer the great questions of life and decide what I wanted. None are more poignant than when I was eighteen years old and soon to graduate from high school. Life was lonely, painful, and the future seemed bleak. I almost committed suicide. The one thing that stopped me was the singular question "what if there is meaning to life?" as I certainly did not know of any at that time.
My search for the meaning of life started out in the physical world and in philosophy because that is all I knew to search. Mankind has learned much about the physical world through the sciences, but there is no answer to life to be found in the physical. Philosophy explores possibilities through logic, but ultimately it is all based on assumptions. When I finally turned to the Scriptures I found something that explained life as I saw and experienced it. The challenge, for me, was to comprehend the possibility and depths of a spiritual level of life. As I explored this possibility, and also that of a relationship with the One Most High, life suddenly opened up and great things started to happen.
How a person answers this question will effect all of their thoughts and actions in life. A person can search through the roles and responsibilities one has in life to find some answers. As an example, roles and responsibilities can include being a man, a husband, and a father. Yet above these responsibilities is a deeper level that determines who a person is inside and decides how one will function in these roles. This level can include understanding the deep concepts that one is a created being, a fallen and sinful being, and a believer in the Messiah as savior with all that comes attached to them.
The writings of Scripture show that for the vast majority of people time will pass until the second resurrection (the first resurrection is for those martyred during the great tribulation). At that point, a judgment will be made on each person regarding their receiving eternal life or being sent to the second death. This judgment is based on one's acceptance of Yahshuah, the son of Yahveh, who is the Messiah and Savior that came and died on the cross to make atonement for our sins. Following this judgment, a new heaven and new earth will be created and Elohim will be with His people.
Once again, how a person answers this question will effect their entire life. If a person focuses only on the physical aspects of life, then life can become a matter of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. With the inclusion of the spiritual level, matters of peace and righteousness become more important. If the value of a person's life becomes more than the value of pleasures in life then one is free from the bondage of materialism and selfishness and is able to spend time on things that are more important and to find great joy in those endeavors.
Among the warrior cultures, the answer to this question simply comes in the form of fighting battles because honor is not a mental concept but rather is an action that must be demonstrated. Within Scripture, honor is given to those who obey the covenant law and are strong in their faith. Another word for this is righteousness. Yet these two ideas combine in living life in a fallen world because of the constant struggle between good and evil. Those who are believers must fight the inward and outward battles to remain righteous while surrounded by the evils of the world. It is not honor from man that is sought and often taken by force in this world. Instead, it is the honor from Elohim that must be given to a person and earned in their actions through faith.
In the secular world, most people are supporting and building many kingdoms or empires. This is not just the nation or country in which someone lives. It can involve whatever the person actively supports whether it be the local sports team or a movie franchise. For the believer, there are two kingdoms of importance. These are the raising of one's children and the Kingdom of Heaven. We help build the Kingdom of Heaven by being an example of the Almighty's people and showing the peace that comes with a relationship in Him through His Son. We help His kingdom to grow when we help others learn how to obey the covenant laws and be righteous in a fallen world.
It is not uncommon for man to try and answer the great questions of life. This endeavor has been done for thousands of years. Yet in the last two hundred years, a relatively new answer has emerged and been accepted by large numbers of people. That answer is evolution.
From the perspective of evolution, the great questions of life have hopeless answers. A person is a bunch of chemicals that by chance come together for a period of time and then will fall apart again at some time. There is no greater meaning to life. Life can only be used to try and selfishly get what one wants. It, more or less, leaves out the possibility of a soul or spirit and life continuing after the death of the body.
Under the perspective of evolution, there is no absolute good and evil. Morality becomes subjective or altogether unneccessary. With this kind of perspective, it is little wonder that there has been a tremendous moral decline in the world in the last century. It is little wonder that violent crime is up. It explains why there is so little value given to human life. All of this because of a scientific theory that cannot be proved true.
It is true that we cannot go into a lab and create a universe without the Almighty and a universe with the Almighty and see which is more like our own. Yet the evidence of a created universe is all around us. If we honestly take the evidence that science is giving us and put it in a balance scale, we will see that it much more strongly supports creation than it does evolution. In fact, the details of scientific work are now disproving that evolution could ever happen.
When one seeks the answers to life from the One who created life, one finds peace, hope, joy, and love. We learn that we are created with a purpose, that life has value and meaning, that life goes on even after the death of the body. The record of the One Most High's relationship with mankind is found in the Scriptures and consistently show His amazing love for us even though mankind is full of rebellion and unthankfulness.