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Life in the beginning
It has become very clear to me in a way that it hasn’t been to me for many years. I was born and grew up in a Christian family. For the most part of my life, the church is all I knew. It was both the centre and circumference of my life. I learnt from my teachers way back then that life was absolutely meaningful when you have Jesus in it. I thought I understood when I heard it. But, events that followed in my life afterwards showed that I had very little understanding of the concept of Jesus, let alone having Jesus in my life.
I gave my life to Christ, or better, my personal journey with Jesus… No, I would put it this way. Jesus came into my life at the age of about twelve years old. Back then, I thought we were close. I talked about him to my friends and made it a point to share his story to anyone who would listen. I went to church and did my best to live right. I wasn’t prefect then, but I thought I was growing and with that growth, maturity. The reality was different.
The fortunate realisation
Many years down the line, I found myself in another country at a very low point in my life. I had barely any friends and while dealing with feelings of betrayal, disconnecting and isolation, I thought it was over. I hadn’t forgotten my background but my worldview, at this point, had taken a serious beating and there was barely anything to hold on to for dear life sake. That was when Jesus reminded me he was still around. I still did not grasp the meaning of his presence then but I held on loosely to him and survived that period of draught.
I made attempts to reconnect with the fundamentals of the faith I had know all this while but my waters had been muddied and it was up to me to find out what was real or not. It wasn’t an easy task. However, this time around, I was willing to find out for myself why I believed all that I had believed. I started questioning everything. Needless to say, but it took me about five years to come to a new starting point. A point when I thought, alas, I have found Jesus. Again, I was wrong. Jesus was the one who had found me. This time though, unlike many years ago when I first encountered him, I was willing and my heart was somewhat desperate to explore him.
Today, it’s been another five more years and while I have progressed in my journey, I still feel there is still some way to go. Nonetheless, I am not devoid of conviction. Many of my questions have been answered and I am confident I will get more answers as I make much needed progress. After all, Rome was not built in a day!
Identity, purpose and destination
To the point, when it comes to receiving clarity and being convicted, not merely convinced, about the life you should be living, the simple answer is often long. A long journey all those who seek clarity must undertake. There are many people who are not bothered by life, however if you are one of the few who want to live your life to the fullest, then I would like to commend you on the path you have chosen. But, what does it even mean to live life to the fullest?
Purpose in life will come from knowing the answer to a few questions. First, where are you from? Then, who are you? Why are you here? How are you supposed to live here? Finally, where are you going? These are the essential questions to figure out your identity, purpose and destination. More than these, I have uncovered more relevant questions to help attain results of identity, purpose and destination in a more organic way. But, that is not the point I am coming at here. In this article, I am focused on Jesus!
Muhammad, Buddha and Confucius
Before you go away thinking there is nothing here, give me a moment to make my case to you. After all, you have gotten this far already. Only a little more to go from this point. Jesus is a very controversial character in our modern society today for several reasons. As a result, many have either come to love him or hate him. Whether they know him or not. You see, there are many ways you can choose to live on this earth. Whether your choice is Buddha or Muhammad or Confucius, you have options. However, it is obvious all of these individuals were imperfect. We acknowledge they had flaws like any of us and were fallible. In fact, these individuals themselves sought for help for their inadequacies and found some solutions we find useful today. Nonetheless, none of them was perfect. In one vein, their imperfections make them relatable to us who are looking for help in making sense of this seemingly senseless world. On the other side, their imperfections tell us we cannot completely look up to them. This limitation makes it difficult to use them as a complete reference for our lives. So, what we normally do is we pick and choose parts and pieces and try to incorporate them into our lives. The result, confusion. We don’t want confusion though. what we need is clarity!
Hints on achieving clarity
That’s exactly what Jesus Christ offers. I have come to realise this. All the theological underpinnings of this conversation are relevant but before that, let’s just look at the man, Jesus Christ. Oh my, he is quite the man. Unlike all the other individuals we seek to follow in their footsteps, there is none quite like Jesus. This man was perfect when he walked on the face of the earth. His example was love and his legacy was sacrifice. The story goes, he was a friend to the needy, lonely, and oppressed. He spoke truth to power and eventually, died for the benefit of even those who hated him. Right at the end, he prayed even for those who asked for him to be killed even though he did no wrong to them. He became the ultimate sacrifice of good for evil.
The more I think about his story, the more I wonder if any other man measures up to him. If you ask me, I would say his birth, life and death are a template that can rescue any person from the confusion of life and living, and give clarity on how to approach life without having to pick and choose parts and pieces. In a nutshell, I think there is something in Jesus for everyone at any point of life. All we have to do is look at his life and follow his lead. He is the perfect man who can make our lives perfect, full of clarity!