Is Life Worth Living?

 

    I find it appalling that philosophers and young intellectuals are debating whether or not life is worth living.  Many lives are ended simply because no worthwhile end is seen.  Thousands more are living dead men, addicted to liquor, drugs, or some other degenerate life because they are ignorant of the purpose of life itself.

    Even animals enjoy eating, sleeping, reproduction, and being the leader of the herd.  But God intended man, the jewel of His creation, to answer a higher calling.

    Part of the problem of despondency and futility is because of a false notion of what a successful life consists of.  Most judge the success of one's life by job position, things possessed, social status, and the temporary worldly pleasures he is able to participate in.  That mind-set is the worm that kills the apple.  We know that to be true because those who have all these things are still looking for something more (cf. Luke 18:18-23).

    Jesus says, "Is not the life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25). Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).  In genuine Christianity, one finds something to live for, something to hope for, and something to die for.

    However, the definition of "Christianity" has become so blurred, so watered down, and so adulterated that few are able to explain it in true Bible terms, much less live it.  The only thing that can set us free, the only thing that can give us something to live for and something to die for is the Truth.  It will set you free (John 8:32), if you will allow it to do so through faithful obedience to God's Word, which is Truth (John 17:17).

    The Cross of Jesus was not a "watered-down" Cross! He carried it all the way to Calvary – no pouting, no complaining, He just did it. How could He do it? He knew who He was, what His purpose was in this life, and where He was going (John 8:14).  Though He despised the shame of the Cross, He endured it by keeping His mind on the glory that awaited Him on the other side of His Cross (Hebrews 12:2). 

            The Bible recognizes ONLY those who do the will of the Father in Heaven as the brothers, sisters, and mothers of Jesus (Matthew 12:50;  Mark 3:35; Luke 8:21). Such are the ones who take up their cross daily and follow after Him (Luke 9:23). The only way to end up where Jesus is (in Heaven, Ephesians 1:20), is to follow Him. We must be faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10). We can do that only if we understand who we are, and, like Jesus, keep our mind on the glory that awaits us on the other side of our cross.           

 

Toby Miller