You can be happy all you want, but if you don’t feel like your life has “Purpose and Meaning”?
Your happiness will become hollow, turn sour, and lose strength.
It can become down right depression. Purpose and meaning will keep you going even when you’re not happy. The message of Christ is all about a “Kingdom of Purpose and Meaning”. No wonder it’s called Good News!
A Kingdom of Purpose and Meaning. God’s Kingdom!
Jesus came on a mission of revealing God our Father. Saying… Be of good cheer! You have eternal purpose! Your life doesn’t end in the grave, but you can build something having everlasting life! You can build something that doesn’t fold in the end! Put your shoulder to the Kingdom of God and live with purpose and meaning! This will bring true joy and happiness! Then he gave us the Beatitudes, revealing the secret of true happiness. And if the Beatitudes are right, then happiness is not derived from what we would think.
It’s more happy to give than receive, God’s word tells us. But what are we giving? Is it just about money, or gifts? Have you considered giving fire? There must be a fire burning in our belly! Share that fire! God’s gift in you, use it for the Kingdom of God, and God will use it to benefit the kingdom of man. We can affect others with the purpose and meaning of the Kingdom of God. We can bake bricks in an oven of our fire and build something eternal!
Egypt put the Children of Israel in slavery and demanded they make bricks of mud and straw. Day after day, for many years, they suffered a meaningless life of brick making and building memorials to Pharaoh; and then they started taking away their straw, but still demanded more bricks! What a perfect picture of the dead end street of man’s kingdom. A kingdom of futility. Demanding more and more, but everyone loses in the end. Unless, we know the Kingdom of God.
We find happiness is not a life of constant “pleasure”. It’s not a world of more pleasure means more happy, as Satan would like you to believe. It’s becoming a part of something bigger than you, and putting yourself into it. It’s more happy giving than receiving. So we find ourself in “man’s kingdom” with a mission of revealing “God’s Kingdom” in whatever way God leads.
So how is this working for you? How is your purpose and meaning going? Whose life is being affected in some way because of the Kingdom of God flowing through you? And don’t limit yourself to one thing, our whole life should flow with the purpose and meaning of Christ, and his incredible news that our life doesn’t have to be a dead end street, but we can build with Eternal Bricks!
Look around at all the man made things you can see. Think about how long these things may stand. Chances are they will be here long after you are gone, but they are not made of Eternal Bricks. Even their days are numbered. Just ask the pyramid of Gaza. Old as it is, it’s days are numbered, and it shows the wear and tare of age. Even Gaza is just a blink of the eye to God.
As Jesus was leaving the temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various temple buildings. But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
(Jesus could be a real bummer, at times, but always reminding us eternity.)
Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, I am the Messiah. They will deceive many.” …
Don’t be fooled by this world’s promises of straw bricks. They are buildings built on sand. Let this be your Christmas present from God this year: “ETERNAL BRICKS” baked in the fire he put in you. Let this be your message to others about the Kingdom of God plowing in the kingdom of man. And don’t just tell them, show them. Most times the greatest messages are preached with the least words. We show people the cross at work in our life.
Let your life build a road others can follow! A road leading to the Kingdom of God! Lay every brick with care. Your life a road others can walk on. A yellow brick road of gold! Eternal bricks, stamped with the words:
“Made in the Kingdom of God.”
Path Without End 