In addition to the problems of emptiness, sin, and man’s life, the human life also has the problem of its destination. The human life needs to have a destination—a home to return to and a person to whom it should return.
There is a saying in Chinese that everything in the universe has its owner or master. Although man is rich in emotions, thoughtful, and purposeful, he may not know who his master is. We need to consider whether human beings have a lord, or a master, someone to whom they belong and to whom they live. Many wives consider their husband as their lord, and children often consider their parents as their master. Hence, some mothers think that their children belong to them. However, we need to consider who our lord is, the one to whom we ultimately belong, the one to whom we can tell our troubles and from whom we can receive comfort in times of sorrow. We need to consider whether our husband can be our genuine comfort, whether we can genuinely speak to our wife concerning all things, whether our parents can bear all our problems, or whether our children can meet all our needs. We need to consider whom we ultimately belong to.
On the surface, husbands may seem to be the lord of their wife, and wives may appear to be the lord of their husband. However, when difficult circumstances arise, such as a life-threatening illness, a husband will realize that his wife has no way to be his lord, and a wife will realize that her husband cannot be her lord. Children will realize that they cannot always take refuge in their parents, and parents will realize that they cannot necessarily rely on their children. When something important happens to us, we will realize that although many people are dear to us, we may not be able to find anyone whom we can turn to or rely on. This means that without a destination, in his practical experience man is completely helpless while living on the earth. He does not know whom he belongs to or whom he should live to.
When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, he went about to many cities and villages preaching the gospel, and when he saw the crowds coming to Him, He was moved with compassion for them because they were harassed and cast away like sheep not having a shepherd (Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34). These people were like lost sheep. Sheep belong to a shepherd, and the shepherd is the master of the sheep. The shepherd solves all the problems of the sheep and meets all their needs. When the Lord Jesus saw the people wandering about like sheep without a shepherd, with no place to go and no one to belong to, He was moved with compassion for them. Today, human beings are like sheep without a shepherd, and thus, they have no destination.
Many people have no quick answer to the question of what the direction of human life is and where man is going. We need to consider where we are in our human life today and where we are going. We also need to consider what our destination is, whom we belong to, and to whom we live our lives. These are serious questions. The actual condition of human life is that it is not only empty and sinful but also corrupt and fragile. Man does not know where he came from, nor does he know where he is going. Hence, he does not know where he is, to whom he belongs, and to whom he should live. Everything in the universe has its owner, but man does not know who his master is (Isa. 1:3). This shows that human beings are lost, like sheep without a shepherd. The Bible uses many parables to describe man’s lost condition. One of such parables shows that God is man’s Shepherd.
The three parables in Luke 15 speak of God’s desire to be man’s destination. The first parable speaks of the Lord Jesus coming like a shepherd to seek a lost sheep, which signifies a lost sinner (vv. 4-7). The second parable speaks of the Holy Spirit coming like a fine woman to carefully sweep the house until she finds her precious coin, which signifies man as the treasure of God (vv. 8-10). The third parable speaks of the Father God eagerly awaiting the return of His prodigal son, signified by the son who left his father’s house to wander in the world and became lost and without a destination (vv. 11-24). These three parables show that man should have a master.
The Bible tells us that man was created by God (Gen. 1:26-27). God is our Creator, and in this sense He is our Father (cf. Luke 3:38). He is also our Lord, and we belong to Him. Therefore, we should return to Him, just as the prodigal son returned to his father and his father’s house in the parable in Luke 15. A son who leaves his father’s house to become a prodigal has no peace in his heart. He may gain much wealth, have a high position, and enjoy many material pleasures, but whenever he considers his situation, he will have an uneasy feeling within. However, once he returns home to be reconciled to his father, he will have a sense of peace within. Thus, no matter how prosperous we are in our human life, how high a position we attain, or how rich we are, if we do not come back to our Creator, we will remain as prodigals wandering away from home and having no peace within. This is because we are not in the right position and have not set aright our relationship with God the Father.
God is our Creator, and He is the Lord who shepherds us. Although we may not have much realization of His shepherding, in His divine authority God is caring for us and shepherding us every day. We are the sheep in His pasture, and He is the One who shepherds us, feeds us, and cares for us. However, we do not know Him, and we often do things behind His back, conduct our lives apart from Him, speak evil of Him, and even deny His existence. How terrible this is!
During World War II, Mussolini became the dictator of Italy, and due to his great power, he became proud. It was reported that when one missionary, with the expectation that Mussolini would fear God, spoke to him about God, Mussolini boasted that if the eternal Father were to speak to him, he would punch Him with his fist. In essence, he was saying, “Where is this God, this eternal Father? If there is such a person, I will punch Him if He speaks to me.” When I read his words, I felt that he was too bold. Eventually, a few years later he died a shameful and pathetic death. This shows that God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7).
Many people say that God does not exist, because no one has seen Him. However, if there were no God, where did man come from, and how could man exist? We need to consider why our eyebrows do not grow underneath our eyes, and why our teeth do not grow inside our nostrils. Everything in the universe, including the human body, is part of the Creator’s wonderful work. Thus, we cannot say that there is no God. None of the things in the universe came about by coincidence or were naturally formed. Rather, the heavens are above our head, the earth is beneath our feet, and our nostrils breathe in the air created by God. We need to lift up our heart to revere and love this God who loves us. We should never despise God or mock Him by speaking evil things. Rather, we need to stand as a creature before our Creator, bow our head in humility, and say to Him, “O God! I am one whom You have created and shepherded. I revere You, and I belong to You. I desire to be a proper person, to do Your will, and to please You.” As creatures, we should have such an attitude. This is the way we begin our return to God and correct our relationship with our Lord and Father. When we return to Him, we will be happy, and we will have peace within.
When we are in the right position, it will not matter whether we are outwardly poor, destitute, or seriously ill; deep within our spirit we will have peace and happiness because we have a destination for our human life. We will be people who have the Lord as their destination and will not be like those who have nowhere to take their problems and no one on whom they can cast their burdens. We will be peaceful and satisfied within because we know that the Creator of all things is our Father and our Lord. This is sweet and glorious.