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Is There Meaning in Life

                                                                                                                            September 2011

Is there meaning in life? Who am I? Why am I here on this earth for? Is there more to life than this? I guess a lot of us would have asked such questions at some point in our lives. It’s no wonder that the phrase “Is there meaning in life” is one of the most searched phrases on Google. There could be many reasons why people ask such questions. If you have asked these questions or something along those lines, then this article is for you.

Stories from My Life

I have asked these questions myself. To start with, I am going to step out on a limb and share some of my stories. During my teenage, I was given an opportunity to act in a skit in front of my church. The skit did not go so well for me, as I could not express myself and my communication skills were not good either. Needless to say, I was a poor actor. Probably one of the most embarrassing moments in my life happened in March 2005 when I was pursuing my college degree. I took part in the finals of the 800-meter race. Everyone in my college, right from the lab technician to the Principal, was watching us perform. I finished at the last position and by a very big margin. It was very embarrassing and I felt like sinking my head into some hole to avoid looking at anyone. Obviously, I had no hope of becoming a Pierce Brosnan or a Usain Bolt. I have had my share of failures too. So, in a certain sense, began my quest to find if there really is any meaning in life.

You Are a Walking Miracle 

Before finding the answers to these questions, it’s imperative to know how and why we were created in the first place.

The human body is composed of organs which are composed of tissues which in turn are composed of cells. Within the human cell we have a miniature city, full of molecular robots. Each miniature city is similar to a micro-miniaturized factory comprising thousands of carefully-designed, complex machines containing a hundred billion atoms far more complex than any machinery produced by man. It has a central memory bank, assembling plants, central processing units, repackaging centers and shipping units. There are hundreds of thousands of different kinds of these machines that make up the cell. They communicate with an elaborate communication system that we are yet to understand. They also have quality control and error-correcting mechanisms. The cell nucleus is the information centre, which includes a master library, with which everything is coordinated. Inside that we have automated factories and product manufacturing facilities. All this is powered by mitochondria, which are the power stations.

Very complicated, isn’t it? I guess most of us when we studied about the human cell during our school days would not have realized it had so much attention to detail.

Ford River Rouge Plant Vs Human Cell

The Ford Motor Company's River Rouge plant located in Dearborn, Michigan is one of the largest integrated manufacturing facilities in the world. It has about 100 miles of rail road within the plant. It receives raw limestone, raw iron ore and coal at one end and the new cars come out at the other end. This is a very sophisticated, complex, organized factory. However, the human cell is more complicated than the River Rouge plant. In fact, your cell can do something the River Rouge plant can't do. It is capable of replicating itself within a few hours. Wow, this is awesome!

The Miracle of Life 

I am not sure if you have ever seen a miracle in your life, but if you haven’t, you don’t have to search too hard. Just look at yourself, you are a result of a miracle.

It amazes me to consider the miracle of life. How from the tiny, microscopic sperm, life gets created. (The average length of a human sperm is about 7 microns. And 1 micron is 1/1000 of a millimetre). We often look at a person and say things like, “Oh, you have your father’s eyes” or “You have your father’s soft hair” or “You are as gentle as your father”. Think about the massive amounts of data the tiny sperm must contain – every minute detail from the top of the head to the sole of the person’s feet must be contained in it. More importantly, how is all this information being stored, read and copied by the egg? Not only is all the data meticulously stored in the sperm, but is also compatible and recognizable by the egg. Who is coordinating all this? How do the egg and the sperm know what to do and what not to do for reproduction to carry out smoothly? Again who is coordinating all this? Could it be random chance? Sounds very complex, isn’t it? When I consider this, I am reminded of a scripture in Psalm 139:13 (NIV) that says, “For you (God) created my inmost being; you (God) knit me together in my mother’s womb”.

Here we are in the 21^st century with all kinds of technological advancements and what not. And we still have data storage and file compatibility issues.

Honestly, I have had problems with storing data in my computer. Just the other day, I had worked on an Excel file for a considerable amount of time, saved it in a folder, but mistakenly e-mailed another file that had the same name stored in another folder. In another similar incident, one day my colleague had sent a file asking me to convert it into a format that can be recognized and opened by the software in his computer. This is a classic case of file incompatibility.

You Are Not a Mistake 

Obviously, the creation of life cannot be the result of random chance. There has to be a lot of thought, design and engineering-brilliance involved in bringing out such a product. By looking at the above passages, one can conclude that there has to be a supreme being who is keenly interested in our well-being. He, who created you, created you for a purpose and has a unique plan just for you. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,“ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Each one of us is unique and is born into the world with special talents and gifts. Nobody is here is this world just to fill the numbers. This might surprise you, but there is not another human being on this earth who is just like you. Although there may be around 7 billion people on the planet, no two of them look exactly the same. Even twins look slightly different. In fact, you have been handpicked by God for something super extraordinary that only you can do.

You don’t have to be an Einstein to make an impact on this world. Your gifting can be as simple as putting your arms around the shoulder of a hurting, depressed friend and saying few encouraging words. Who knows? He might have contemplated suicide and your words might have saved him. One fine day, he might even become the president of the nation. Pause for a moment and think whom he will thank then.

I do not know the condition of your life. Your life may be messed-up, shaken and shattered. But the good news is, if you will put your hands in the hands of Jesus, He will make a beautiful mosaic out of those broken pieces. If you could only look through the telescope of time and capture a glimpse of the wonderful plans God has lined up for you, you will be amazed. If God were to put a tag on your life, it would read: Priceless!

 
Reality of Life 

For some people life is so beautiful, everything they touch turns to gold, while others walk from one failure to another. There are those who are born into wealthy families and they seem to enjoy all the pleasures and prosperity that the world has to offer. For instance, when you look at the lives of successful businessmen, politicians and actors, they almost seem to have everything – fame, prosperity, beautiful/handsome spouse and what not. Then there are those who are not so fortunate and are born into poor families. All their lives they struggle to make ends meet and battle against sickness and poverty. Life can seem so unfair to some people and this list is a huge one:

• I think about a young boy who sells idiyapam (idiyapam is a breakfast meal famous in South India) in my locality early in the morning as well as in the night. Every day he drives his vehicle shouting at the top of his lungs to sell his idiyapams in order to make ends meet. Rain or shine, he is there everyday
• The people whose daily job is to collect trash from homes and dispose them
• The people who enter manholes to clear up clogged sewage lines
• The people, both young and old, who were robbed at gun point
• The people whose bodies were used for human experiments by well-learned doctors during World War II. For instance, these doctors would inject all kinds of chemicals into the eyes of the victims, just to see how the human body reacts to the chemicals
• The tender, young lives that were burnt in the fiery ovens of the Holocaust
• The people born mentally challenged or born with no limbs
• The innocent lives lost as a result of natural disasters or terrorist activities such as the World Trade Center attacks, the Japan-earthquake and hurricane Katrina
• The lives lost as a consequence of blunders committed by doctors while performing surgery
• Take workplace for example, you do all the hard work and the person sitting next to you gets all the recognition, while you get nothing but criticism

All of this is so unfair and this list is not exhaustive but is a never-ending one.

There’s Gotta Be More

Reason suggests there must be more to life than this, shouldn’t it? The good news is that life doesn’t end after the 70 or 80 years spent on earth. In fact, the real life begins after the death of the body. The Bible says, “He (God) has put eternity into man’s heart”. We are created to live for eternity. Our inner man (the soul) lives for ever and ever. So we have to go back and find the reason why we were created in the first place. The answer is simple. We are created to have an intimate, personal relationship with the King, the Creator of the universe, Jesus. In a certain sense, it does not matter if a person is born in a wealthy family or not. The only thing that matters is: Does he/she have an intimate relationship with Jesus? You can whisper a prayer to him and he will answer. What is the guarantee that God is listening to your prayers? The guarantee: an astounding 100%! I am saying this not based on theory, but by experience. The Bible says, “He shall call upon Me, and I will (emphasis added) answer him”. He will always answer you, not sometimes. In fact, He is standing on the balconies of heaven eagerly waiting for you to call on His name. It really is an awesome feeling when the Creator of the universe, the God who flung the stars into existence, calls you by name and whispers in your ears, “I love you, Daniel. I love you.”

Open Door 24/7 

I was working in a company that had about 600-odd employees. After serving for three years, I would have spent about an hour in personally meeting and talking with the Director of the company. In most cases, people who wish to meet with the Director will have to get permission from her Secretary. In short, people can’t walk into her room just like that. It is interesting because the One who created billions of people has the door of His room open all the time. He who created the stars, the majestic mountains, the roaring seas, the beautiful valleys has no restrictions for anyone and has time for everyone. In fact, His door is open right now for anyone to walk in and talk with Him.

Closing Thoughts

There will be moments in life when fear and worry will surround you like a thick cloud, leaving no way of escape. I am sure all of us would have had such situations. Whom will you turn to? Your friends won’t be there. These are moments when you want to tap into the supernatural realm. I can assure that God will be there for you. Even if everybody walks away from you, He will still be with you to help you, for He is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. Many people picture God as someone who sits in the clouds with a whip in His hands, waiting to strike people when they sin, but this is far from the truth. The Jesus that I have tasted all these years is nothing short of real, pure, unadulterated love. You might think life with God will be boring. But that’s not true. He wants to see you prosper and enjoy life. Before creating Adam on the 6^thday, God created the beautiful rivers, plants, flowers, birds and everything else. Why? It’s for man to enjoy. He has the best interest in you. I don’t know what you’ve gone through or going through, but I suggest that you put your hand in the hands of the One who made it. Your past does not determine your future. Your best is yet to be!

One of the criminals crucified next to Jesus understood that there has to be more to life. He grasped the concept of eternity. In Luke 23:42 (NIV) the criminal on the cross said to Jesus, “remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Firstly, the criminal realized that Jesus was from another kingdom. Secondly, Jesus had the power to take him into that kingdom. I love what Jesus replied in verse 43 (NIV), “Today you will be with me in paradise”. Jesus could have replied with a range of questions, but instead He offered the criminal grace and forgiveness – grace the criminal did not deserve and could not earn. Jesus is offering the same grace and forgiveness to each and every one of us.