Education, marriage, and careers cannot satisfy man because the meaning of human life cannot be found in these things. The meaning of human life is Christ entering into man. When Christ enters into you, your human life will have meaning. Not only so, the universe will have meaning. If there were no saved person in Taiwan, even if there were millions of people on the island, the island would have no meaning. If no one in the city of Taipei were a Christian, the city of Taipei would have no meaning. However, praise the Lord that there are Christians in Taiwan and in the city of Taipei. As Christians, we are the meaning of human life in Taipei and in Taiwan.
Have you ever seen pedestrians whose faces were shining and who were joyfully singing? What kind of people do you see walking on the streets? Some of the pedestrians I have seen were sorrowful, some were heavy-burdened, and some were toiling and laboring. I have not seen any who were so overcome with joy that they were singing. (Of course, we should not consider those who are drunk or who suffer from mental illness.) If there are any joyful pedestrians, they surely must be Christians. The saints who meet regularly in Taipei are joyful because they have the Lord in them, and they sing spontaneously wherever they are. This changes the atmosphere of the city. If the brothers and sisters would sing hymns on the streets, at bus stops, in buses, and even in restaurants, their singing would cause a very definite change in the atmosphere in the city of Taipei.
This should be our living. Not only so, all the saints in the church in Taipei should go out and sing on the streets every two weeks or once a month. The gospel marches should continue, but our appearance should change. The gospel vests need to be changed. They need to have a new look. On Saturday or on the Lord’s Day the saints can go out in teams and sing on the streets. This will bring meaning to the city of Taipei.
We must realize that the meaning of the universe is the same as the meaning of human life. If the earth were not in the universe, the universe would be empty. If there were no human beings on the earth, the earth would be empty, and if there were no Christians, human life would be a complete tragedy.
If there were no Christians in your family, it would be a tragedy. What was the situation before Jesus came to your family? How we thank the Lord that our families have Jesus. Not only are our parents saved, but we also are saved. This has brought meaning into our families.
Many of us come from families that used to worship idols. Have you ever seen a family that worships idols being happy after their worship? I have seen many families that worship idols, but I have never seen them in a joyful mood. Some families even have a designated room with a little shrine where they go to burn incense. However, even after burning incense, they are not joyful. They are not singing. It is hard to sing when one is filled with death. Idols represent demons, and demons belong to Satan, who is the source of death. Hence, the worship of idols annuls the meaning of their human life.
The Chinese refer to those who regularly burn incense and worship idols as “kind men and faithful women.” When you enter a Buddhist temple, you do not feel as warm as you do when you are in the meeting hall. This is an indication that the meaning of human life is Christ, and Christ is the meaning of human life. Wherever Christ is, human life has meaning. Wherever there is no Christ, human life has no meaning. A family that does not have Christ is in misery and darkness. A society that does not have Christ is in darkness, and a country that does not have Christ is pitiful.
We are certain that Taiwan is peaceful and has a prosperous situation because the local churches are here. This is the reason that Taiwan is blessed. This is not a small thing. Man is the meaning of the earth. The meaning of being a human is being a Christian, and the meaning of being a Christian is Christ. Christ is the meaning of our human life.
Revelation says that when the new heaven and the new earth appear, the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven (21:1-2). Do not think that the New Jerusalem is a physical city. Revelation uses signs to speak of spiritual things because spiritual things are mysterious. This can be compared to the fact that we cannot take a photograph or draw a picture of electricity, because electricity is mysterious and invisible. The New Jerusalem will be in the new heaven and the new earth, but the New Jerusalem is not a physical city. Revelation uses the sign of a city to describe a spiritual situation. The center and the meaning of the new heaven and the new earth are the New Jerusalem.