They say that 84 percent of the people in the United States believe there is a God. Most also believe God created the universe or at least that He is in charge of nature. This makes sense, when you take man out of the picture nature is very well ordered and almost perfect. Thus, it would seem logical for the God who created all of this to be very well ordered and perfect. If this is the case, and I am convinced that it is, then there is no reason to believe God would create mankind and then leave us to struggle through life without any communication from Him. The fact is that God has given us His complete plan for mankind, to include what He expects from us. What is even more important is the fact that His plan does not call for our being left here on earth to live and die like a tomato plant. The existence of God is truth and we can take comfort in the realization that He has a plan for us.
How do you find true peace and purpose for your life? The best way is to learn what God has planned for mankind and to see just exactly how you fit into this plan. To start with, we are all born into this world as the product of a female and male union. Shortly after we are born we begin being influenced by events taking place around us and we begin exerting our own influence on things around us. It is not long before we come to realize that life is terminal. Often this leads us to reflect on "why?" Here is where knowing God's plan is so important. God has a plan for our very short life here on earth and He has a plan for our eternal existence. God's plan includes our birth, salvation, death, judgement and rewards.
Scripture reveals that we humans are made up of three main components: Physical Body, Soul and Spirit. There is also reference to the human mind but it's role as a separate human component is not exactly clear. The human mind seems to be caught up somewhere between the body and the soul and the spirit.
Thessalonians 5:23 – I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow (body), and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (mind).
Mark 12:30 - And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.
As we are growing up we rapidly learn that the needs and desires of our body dominate our thinking. There will come a time in each person's life, however, when they will be moved in their spirit to seek out God. According to God's plan, we all will have the opportunity to accept or reject the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and to take His Son Jesus the Christ as our Lord and Savior (Milestone 1). If our decision is to accept Jesus then we experience a spiritual rebirth and we receive the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
John 3:5 Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
After our initial spiritual encounter we will have the opportunity to live life as a Christian or to return to our worldly ways. In any advent, our life will bring us to milestone 2 in God's plan: the death of our bodies. Our bodies are made up of inert physical material and this physical material will return to its original inert state.
Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."
Ecclesiastes 3:20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust.
Our bodies will die and return to their elemental components, but our Spirit and soul does not die. Upon death the spirit and soul of man will either go to be with Jesus in Heaven or they will end up in a place we call Hell. One of the best scripture references to this is found in the book of Luke.
Luke 16:19-30 Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'
And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers -- in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'
Our time in Heaven or Hell will be spent waiting for the final return of Jesus. Jesus will precide over the Great White Thrown Judgment, which is milestone number 3. At this judgement, all of mankind will appear before Jesus and He will separate those who have taken Him as Lord and Savior from those who rejected Him.
Matthew 25:31-33 But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
Revelation 20:12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.
For those who have failed to take Jesus as their Lord and Savior; all that awaits them is eternal separation from God in the ‘Lake of Fire.' Those who have taken Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be welcomed into the eternal Kingdom of God. Now it is time for the saved to have their earthly Christian works revealed and judged. If you have labored diligently for Jesus you will have multiple rewards waiting for you; but if you have not labored for Jesus you have no rewards waiting for you in the eternal kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 Because of God's grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person's work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
Here is a part of God's plan that Satan has kept hidden from most people: we got stuff waiting for us when we get to the New Earth, New Heaven or New Jerusalem. Scriptures tells us that we will not all receive the same thing. Eternity is not sitting on a cloud and playing a harp. Who knows where you will end up! I want to be working in the deep woods of the New Earth. Someone else may want to be living in that hugh city: New Jerusalem. Anywat, some of the things that we can look forward to are:
a. Positions of responsibility - In Jesus' parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) He spoke of rewarding those who had been faithful by putting them "in charge of many things" in His kingdom
b. Positions of authority – In Jesus' parable of the 10 minas (Luke 19:12-26) He spoke of putting some people in places of authority over cities in His kingdom based on how well they had served Him.
c. Kingdom Thrones - In Luke 22:28-30 Jesus promised to place those who had stood by Him in His earthly trials on kingdom thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
d. Nearness to Jesus – In Luke 22:28-30 Jesus tells of those who will sit at His table and in Matthew 20:20-21 Jesus acknowledges the existence of seats to His left and right.
e. Different amounts of treasure – In Matthew 6:19-20 Jesus instructs us to lay up treasures in Heaven. The more we work for Jesus in this life the greater our treasures will be in heaven; i.e. we do not all have the same treasure room in heaven.
Then there are the crowns, which some folk will receive. It is impossible to say just exactly what these crown signify, but we do know that you could receive:
a. The Crown of Righteousness;
b. The Imperishable Crown;
c. The Crown of Life;
d. The Crown of Rejoicing; or
e. The Crown of Glory.
CONCLUSION:
A very significant reason people do not find peace and purpose in their lives is our failure to really understand God's plan. In John 10:10 Jesus is recorded as having said: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." It is part of God's plan for our life here on earth to be good, especially if we walk with Jesus. There is no way to eliminate the bad times in our life, but the love of Jesus can bring us peace: even in the bad times. Of course it is not bad all of the time and thus a Christians life is filled with the Joy that can be found in life itself.
God not only has a plan to bless us in this life, but He also plans on rewarding us in our eternal life with Him. Paul told the Colossians in chapter three verses one and two: "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Be mindful of things above, not on things on the earth." The things above are the things in the kingdom of God. Our eternal rewards are part of these things! Remember, life here on earth is only a very small part of God's plan for us … the best part of the plan is eternity in the Kingdom of God.
Think about this for a moment. We live here on earth for but an instant in all of eternity. During our short time in the human body, God plans for us to take Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God also plans on us building a future with Him by living for Jesus while we are here on earth. Paul explains this to the Galatians in the fifth chapter verses 16-23, where he writes:
"So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the Law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"
God's plan for our lives is for us to bear spiritual fruit so that He can reward us in His kingdom.