For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! (Romans 11:36)
…when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5, ESV)
We are perpetually saying, ‘I found something!’ ‘I think I found a little something.’ And if you watch golf, you will invariably hear one of the commentators say, ‘I was talking to so-and-so, and he found something.’
Ask any avid golfer during a stretch of good play, and more than likely, they will say, ‘I found something.’ For most golfers, ‘hope springs eternal.’
We are always looking for that ‘missing piece’ that will work for a day, a week, a month, or, even if we sound delusional, a lifetime.
Sadly, it often turns out that what we found was nothing more than wishful thinking. How many times have you said to a friend or your spouse, as they roll their eyes, ‘I found something,’ only to realize the next day that whatever you found was an illusion, a chimera — a misleading experiment!
Then, of course, there are times when we do, in fact, ‘find something.’ We enjoy a lengthy stretch of great play that verifies what ‘we found’ was the answer. But, alas, eventually something else goes awry.
Think about how many times, without deliberate thought, you catch yourself working on your swing in front of the mirror, the shower, the kitchen, the hallway, the office; heck, anywhere will do.
A friend recently told our Links Fellowship that he ran into a guy from his neighborhood who said, “You’re that guy who’s always working on his golf swing while walking your dog, right?” “Yep! That’s me,” our buddy had to admit.
My Apple Watch occasionally sounds an alarm after a miss-hit, asking me, “Did you fall?” Trust me when I say I am still looking for answers: Early wrist hinge? Late wrist hinge? Flat wrist? Cupped wrist?
One thing is certain: swing instructors, like morticians, are not likely to go out of business anytime soon.
Finding an answer in golf is one thing; finding the answer(s) to life is quite another! In our current series, we are looking at the major questions every worldview tries to answer in humanity’s quest to discover the big scheme of things and our place in it.
Last week, we considered the question “What’s wrong with the world?” Previously, we asked questions about our origins and the nature of man, and now we are asking: Is there an answer to the “riddle of our existence?” Is there an answer to our biggest problem?
Seeing “Jesus is the Answer” on bumper stickers has always provoked a range of reactions. On the one hand, it trivializes the weightiness of the matter. It also elicits the instinctive reaction, “Yes, but what’s the question?”
Yet, when we explore any of the worldview questions deeply enough, we will eventually discover that Jesus is, indeed, the answer. Consider:
Where did the world and humanity originate? The answer: Jesus created the world (Col. 1:15-17). What is the nature of mankind? Answer: We were made in his image (Genesis 1:26-28; Colossians 1:15). What’s wrong with the world? Answer: We rebelled against our Sovereign King Jesus (Romans 1:18-25; 1 John 1: 5-10).
What’s the meaning of life? Answer: Knowing, worshipping, and serving Jesus and his purposes for the world (John 17:3). Are there objective ethical standards? Answer: Love and obey his commandments (John 14:21). What is the destiny of the universe and humanity? Answer: Everything and everyone will bow the knee to the King of kings (Ephesians 1:7-10; Philippians 2: 9-11).
Turns out, the bumper sticker gets it right. Of course, there is much, much more to all the questions, and each answer has infinitely more substance, but in the end, Jesus is the cosmic key that unlocks the “riddle of our existence” and solves our biggest issue.
Christianity is the “true story of the world,” and Jesus is the center and circumference of it all. Notably, none of this can be discovered by the unaided mind through rational or empirical inquiry; it must be revealed from above. Thank God! It’s all preserved in Scripture!
Prayer: Jesus! Open our eyes to see the big scheme of things revealed in your word.