(The following content also appears in a printed leaflet distributed by the church in connection with the 2023 Welwyn Festival Week.)
THERE are some basic questions many of us never quite answer. We may think hard about them at times—when we are teenagers or students or at times of grief or stress. But a surprising number of us go through life never finding adequate answers.
The questions however do not go away—we just bury them under apathy, busy-ness and distractions.
Fewer people seem to turn to religion for answers these days. But they could be missing something. Here are the Christian answers to four of life’s big questions. You may not accept them, but it is up to you to come up with something better. These things are not unimportant. For you only have one life, and whatever follows.
• Where did I come from?
‘From my parents’ is not the only answer. The bigger picture is that all human beings are creatures of God. Humans are, however, unique amongst creatures. You have spiritual capacities not seen in other animals. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, but he is also in this context the prime human being, the Son of God who ‘became flesh’.
• Who am I?
‘Identity’ is a major issue today. You are a person, created in the image of God. Alone amongst creatures you reflect and represent God on earth. Your great fault is to have abused that privilege and turned all the gifts God has given you to your own profit. Instead of serving God, caring for one another and for his creation, we exploit God’s world and his creatures rather than caring for them. The Bible calls this love-of-self rather than love-of-God, sin.
• Why am I here?
To worship. Yes really. Worship is not just what religious people do once a week. It is a description of the fulfilled and satisfied life. It is to live, body and soul, before God, enjoying his beauty and in some small measure reflecting it in the world around you.
‘Without worship, you shrink, it’s as brutal as that…’ (Equus, Peter Shaffer). To worship truly is perfect happiness. To worship ourselves or some other created thing, a god-substitute, is folly.
• What happens after death?
There are two destinies, heaven and hell. No-one made this clearer than Jesus. Faith in him is the only way to heaven—knowing God, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. This is not just living for ever, it is a quality of life that begins now: as Jesus said, eternal life is a relationship—knowing God through Jesus his Son (John 17:3).
Thinking it through
You can’t leave questions like these unaddressed. You may not find answers that satisfy you fully, but you must start somewhere. Religions may not attract the respect they once did, but Christianity is not a religion—it is a system of Truth, indeed claims to be the system of the Truth. Within the answers briefly outlined above, there is a world and life view that spans life, death and beyond.
Invitation
On Sunday 25th June we will be holding a special service at the church where I shall fill out the answers above. You may like to ask some questions too. The service will begin at 4.00pm and will be followed by refreshments. Do come along if you can.
The questions I have addressed will not go away—and you need to think them through.