At some point throughout life, many humans wonder for what purpose they are on the earth. Is there a deeper meaning to this time on earth?
32% of people in the world believe that God the Father sent his son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our salvation, and that the purpose of life is to grow closer to God and form an affinity with him.
A little bit of background…Jesus was born in Bethlehem, his mother was the Virgin Mary, he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Throughout his life, he performed many miracles and also went on his own ministry to spread the word of his Father in Heaven. He eventually was betrayed by one of his disciples and was crucified for the atonement of our sins, so that we may be able to live an eternity with God in Heaven. Now, the Holy Trinity is a tough concept for people to grasp as well. The Holy Trinity is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are all God but NOT each other. For example, Jesus is fully God, but he is not the Father or Holy Spirit. Just as God the Father is God, but not the Holy Spirit or Jesus (the Son of God).
But why do people believe? Despite all the archaeological evidence, it is called faith for a reason. The reason it is called faith is because when we are down at the lowest points in our life, or something so cruel happens that it seems hard to believe that a kind and loving God would put these things in our life, we need to put all our trust into him and truly believe in him. Jesus didn’t go through the most painful death just so his followers praised him when they were in a good spot in life. He wants us to show our full commitment to him.
John 13:7-“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
This verse is from the Gospel of John, and it shows why it is important to ALWAYS trust in God and not only when things are going right in your life. Jesus puts events in our life to test our faith. To see if we are true disciples, or if we just say so.
Everyone’s faith journey is different and no two are the same. But God doesn’t judge how long it takes you to come to him, but just that you do. For me, luckily, I didn’t need any convincing that God was real and present in my life. But I didn’t realize just how active God was in my life until my first TEC (Together Encountering Christ) retreat.
This three day retreat focused on the Paschal mystery tested my faith and allowed me to grow so close to Jesus. I quite literally encountered him. But not everyone’s path will be so cut and dry, and God may even feel so far away at times. No matter what path you take, or how long it takes you to come to Jesus, just realize that it is not a waste of time but rather an investment in eternity.
