WHY AM I HERE?
A young lady aged 30 was talking to me a few days after a successful operation for breast cancer. She admitted that she had seriously considered suicide when she was first told the diagnosis. After thinking for a while I quietly asked,
“Are you ready to meet God then?”
“What do you mean?” she replied.
“One thing we do know that happens after death is that we will have to meet God face to face, so it is vital before that happens that we are prepared and ready for this,” I replied.
“How can I be prepared for this?” she simply asked.
Brian had just been diagnosed as having secondary cancer in his liver causing him to become jaundiced. He and his wife realised that the outlook was not good. After talking about possible treatment options, I asked Brian, “Do you have a faith that helps you at a time like this?”
He turned to his wife and asked, “Do we, dear?”
There seem to be so many people around who are uncertain as to why they are here , what they are here for, and where they are going after they die.
As Brian and his wife didn’t appear to have much concern about spiritual things I simply said.
“For me, knowing that there is a God who loves us and cares for us is the only thing that makes sense of problems like this”, and changed the subject.
The following week, however, I met Brian as he sat in the waiting room for a blood test. He said
“You know what you said last week, it is strange but my next door neighbour, who is a Christian, asked us if we would like to go to church. What do you think?”
“I think that is lovely, but honestly Brian I wonder if sitting through some hymns, prayers and a sermon is what you most need at the moment. I would guess what you most need to know is “How can I get right with God?” ”.
There was a two second pause before Brian looked up and asked
“How do I get right with God?”
We arranged to meet up the following morning at his home and there we went over the basics of the Christian faith. After a few days, first Brian and then his wife became a Christian.
Ever since the beginning of civilisation, people have felt that God was approachable because some religious ceremony has been done involving them. Contrast this approach with the answer Jesus gave. One of the major topics Jesus deals with in his ‘Sermon on the Mount’ is, “Who is acceptable to God”. At one point, He describes what will happen at the final judgment when all of us will come face to face with Jesus Christ. He said:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’. Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers!” (Matthew 7 v. 21-23)
This is tough teaching, certainly not a candy-floss Christianity! Note that many people who recognise Jesus and even refer to him as ‘Lord’ are not acceptable to Him. Jesus is very clear that being a churchgoer, or even a church leader, or a person who has a supernatural gift is not guarantee of our acceptance. Those who are acceptable to God are those who have begun a special relationship with him. Such people are personally known by Him and are inwardly committed to doing what God wants.
There are many places in the Bible where Jesus condemns insincere commitment to God. Today, there is a vogue to praise anyone who has some sort of faith, whatever form it takes. Jesus was never so naive. He was interested in seeing that people follow God’s way. Anything else, even if well intentioned, does not please God.
Our problem is that on our own we can never be good enough for God. His solution was to send Jesus as the answer to this dilemma. He provides the one and only way to establish a close relationship with God which we neglect to our peril. We may have our own views about God but it is God’s view of us that matters above everything else in the world!
I am particularly conscious of this because I used to be a sham Christian. I did find church and school religion uninspiring to say the least. I had picked up enough theology to be able to give reasonable answers to straightforward questions - and so I looked on myself as a Christian - and put ‘C of E’ on forms.
Then I went up to university and met a group of men whose commitment to Jesus was inspiring. They enjoyed the same sports as I did; they were cheerful and fun to be with, and, although they belonged to various denominations, they all shared the same deep commitment to Christ. They used to take me to listen to sermons and talks and gradually it got through to me that I wasn’t quite all that I should be - that in fact I was not really a Christian yet.
One day, a friend invited me to come to his room where an American named George Verwer was going to give a talk. I remember the evening vividly: it was a large room for a student and I sat on the floor at the back. He spoke on a verse from John’s first epistle, “Let us not love with words and with tongue but with actions and in truth”. (1 John 3 v. 18)
As he talked, I realised that my commitment to God was nothing but words. My commitment was pure humbug and, the longer I listened, the more aware I became that God wanted it to be real.
Afterwards, I went back to my room and knelt down by my bed and fought a battle. I knew God wanted me to be His, but what would my other friends think of me? Should I really commit my life to God? Could I not defer this decision? One side of me knew that the Lord wanted me to be a Christian, but the other side kept thinking of reasons to wait. I would have to get involved with the ‘God Squad’ - some may ridicule me.
The struggle lasted perhaps half an hour, but the pounding of God on my conscience won through. I prayed, “Lord come into my life. Help me to be the sort of person you want me to be. I want to be your person. I need your forgiveness”. That was it. There were no bright lights or ecstasy - just a simple relief that I knew I had done what was right. The following day, I told my friend what had happened, and he was overjoyed. He then gave me some very sound advice, “Go and do some studying and be absolutely certain that the Christian faith is true - really true - so that, when the pressures come, you will be able to keep going strongly”.
I am now convinced that Jesus is who he claimed to be, God in the flesh, who really came to earth so that all of us could know that we are forgiven and right with God. Jesus does fulfill all those prophecies in the Old Testament that give details as to how he would be recognised, including details of where and how he would be born, what he would do, how he would be crucified and then rise again. His disciples were so convinced about him that eleven out of the twelve were killed because they knew that it was so important that we know the truth about Jesus. However on top of all this objective evidence, is the friendship that has developed with him over the years since I have been one of his people. He does answer prayer, and he does keep us wanting to stay close to him, living his way.
If any reader is not certain that they have this relationship with God, may I strongly commend my Saviour to you. Jesus said,
“I am the way, and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14 v. 6)
For his sake as well as yours, please make it the major ambition of your life to be certain that you can stand confidently before God, knowing that you are eternally safe.
BVP
