It is of great importance for Christians to know their inclination. What is the inclination of man’s heart? What is man seeking after? What is his lifelong goal? These are great questions of human life and the so-called philosophy of life. What should man really take as his purpose? Throughout the history of mankind, there have been varied opinions about this, but until now there is still no definitive answer. Even though successful and famous people have their own individual goals, they are unable to offer us an accurate answer as to what really is the goal of human life.
Christians have God living within them; they have God’s life in them. Hence, they may be considered the remarkable and exceptional ones among men. With these ones, what is the goal of their human life? They read the Bible and pray daily, and they also meet together and offer petitions regularly. What actually is their inclination? What do they want to obtain in their pursuit? I am afraid even they are not able to give us a clear answer. Some may say that they believed in Jesus to find someone to whom they can entrust themselves. This is because they are convinced that those who do not believe in Jesus do not have God and that those who do not have God have no one to whom they can commit themselves. Others may say that they became Christians in order to obtain peace and enjoy blessings. They consider that those who are without God have neither peace nor blessings; those who have God, however, will obtain peace and enjoy the God-given blessings if they pray to God whenever they face some difficulties. It seems that to be a Christian is just to hope for these things.
What is God’s intention for His children? What does He want His children to focus on and seek after? In other words, what does God want us Christians to obtain in our pursuit? If Christians fail to ascertain this goal, then it is difficult for them to be normal, genuine Christians. This is because if a Christian does not have a proper goal, his direction and his way will be wrong; consequently, he will not conduct himself as a Christian. Therefore, in addition to church history, Christians should know the proper Christian goal so that they may establish the proper Christian model. After all, the model of a Christian is determined by his goal.
There is a great problem, however, that hinders man from knowing this goal. For instance, if someone tosses a small diamond or pearl into a pile of rice grains, it will be difficult for us to find the gem. However, if he puts the diamond or pearl in his hand, then the gem can be clearly seen. The Christian goal is truly a mystery in the universe because it has been hidden in a countless number of matters and things. Consequently, many lose sight of the goal because their eyes have become blurred. Although there is a great distinction between the goal and the myriad of things, it is difficult to identify the goal because it has been mixed in with so many things. If we know the Bible, however, we can see that man was created exclusively for God. For example, a microphone is used exclusively for speaking or singing. In the universe man was created with a unique purpose. The microphone may be altered to be used for other functions but man cannot be changed for other purposes. Once the purpose of man is changed, the original purpose of God’s creation of man is nullified.
In Genesis we are clearly told that man was created for God. Therefore, man’s goal is God; man must pursue God and long for God. If man receives God, he will have the inner satisfaction, joy, and peace, his eyes will be enlightened, and all his problems will be resolved. Please remember that before the fall of man and his subsequent removal from God’s presence, man was in fellowship with God. At that time man was filled with satisfaction and joy. However, because man fell away from God, there was a distance between man and God. Thus, man was alienated from God. Thereafter, man lost his satisfaction, joy, and enjoyment of God.
We can find out how music came about if we study the Bible carefully. Music came into existence after man had lost the enjoyment of God due to his fall and removal from God’s presence. Man invented music for self-amusement because he had been alienated from God and had lost his joy in God. Thus, music was brought in because man had lost God (Gen. 4:21). A person who has God has music. The Bible tells us that the best music is God Himself. A person who has God can make melody in his heart. Millions of saved ones can testify that they sing and make melody because they have God as their music. If a person does not have God, he does not have music; he can neither sing nor play music. Therefore, he has to seek after music outside of God. The reason that man seeks after music is that he does not have God. He seeks after amusement because he has lost God.
There is a Chinese idiom which literally means “drinking poisonous wine to quench one’s thirst.” It is used to describe a person who acts against principle for a moment’s relief or comfort and thus brings endless sufferings upon himself. Having lost God, man has an unquenchable thirst in his inner being. What can he do then? The only alternative he has is to “drink poisonous wine.” I believe that even today there are so many friends around us who attend theaters, go to dances, or play mah-jongg. Their participation in all these forms of amusement proves that they have lost God and that there is a great distance between them and God. Whenever we ask others to provide us a little pleasure or sympathy, this proves that we do not have God-we have lost God. No one would look for more water immediately after he has drunk to the full. If we are still looking for water, this proves that we have not drunk to the full and that we are still thirsty. The fact that people are seeking all kinds of amusements proves that they do not have God. I have seen some people who find pleasure in riches. These kind of people do not like dancing, going to bars, or playing mah-jongg; they only enjoy seeing a lot of money in front of them. When they count their money and examine their bank deposits, they become exhilarated. Others find pleasure in music; as long as they have music, they can forget about everything else. Still others focus their interest on literature. Therefore, we may say that everyone who has left God is always occupied by certain hobbies. There is no exception to this. Regardless of whether they are men or women, young or old, highly educated or barely educated, no one is without a hobby; everyone has something that he loves. A certain old man may care for nothing but a string of pearls. It does not matter if the weather is hot or cold, he likes to hold the pearls just the same. It seems that without the pearls he is at a loss to know what to do. Why is this? This is because man’s heart cannot be empty. This is true even with an old man. Although he no longer desires anything in his heart, his heart remains empty and needs to be occupied and filled with something.
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