In deep thought, she leaned against the outside wall of the four-room house that was home to Dad, Mom and seven siblings. At age eight, the middle child and oldest girl, for a couple of years now had been learning culinary and housekeeping skills to assist Mom with caring for the family. Her relationship with each family member was so close that the thought of losing one of them to an accident or illness struck terror in her heart.
At an early age, she already had faced tragedy and deep sorrow. Just over a year earlier, a 13-year-old neighbor boy and close friend of her brother had been accidentally and fatally injured as the two of them were hunting in a small field that joined the back yard of her home. The horrific scene was still vivid in her mind. Only a month ago, her dear grandfather had passed away in their home with no apparent illness and no warning. On this mild, early winter day, these sad memories captured her thoughts as she gazed out across the dead, brown fields to a row of trees in the distance that seemed to merge with the gray sky and she wondered, “What is life all about?”
Grandfather was the first deacon and a charter member of the church a mile and a half away where the family attended when possible. But, with no transportation, the children had very limited exposure to church life. Dad had accepted Christ as a teenager and there was always a Bible in the home and reverence for God. The family was open to the Gospel and over the next several years, after they moved close enough to attend church regularly, each of them came to know Jesus as Savior. The life question was beginning to be answered. The essence of this true story has probably been played out in the lives of many. There is no more important question than, “What is life all about?” And, the Bible indicates there is a degree of unrest in every soul until the answer is found. John 1:9 assures us that God has enlightened every person who has ever been born, “That was the true Light (Jesus) which lighteth (enlightens) every man (woman, boy, girl) that cometh into the world.”
Another wonderful promise is found in John 12:32-33,”And I, if I be lifted up from the earth (crucified), will ‘draw’ all men (mankind) unto me. This He (Jesus) said, signifying what death He should die.” Romans 1:20 indicates that the evidence in creation of the God of salvation is so powerful that all of us are without excuse. Jesus Himself said that the truth of God would be revealed to any honest seeker in these words in John 7:17, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself.” If one comes to the Scriptures, that give the purpose of life and the provision for eternity, with an open heart willing to accept and act upon the knowledge that is revealed therein, He can find the answers for life, death and eternity (John 10:10).
The song by Lanny Wolfe portrays this so fittingly, “Some men try so hard to prove that God’s not really real. While others say they know for sure His love you cannot feel. But I know He’s real within my soul. One day He cleansed and made me whole and Jesus is still the answer for that longing deep in your soul. Jesus is still the answer and though time and ages roll, Jesus is still the answer. He’s the answer for your soul. And though some may say He doesn’t fit with their philosophy, I know Jesus is still the answer. He’s always been and always will be,” (John 14:6).
The truth is, life is short, death is sure and eternity is forever. Jesus is the answer to all of it and only He can satisfy the soul. If you do not know Him personally, He is actively seeking a relationship with you because He came to seek and to save those who do not know Him (Luke 19:10).
— Randy Zinn is pastor of Russell Missionary Baptist Church, Russell, Ark.; formerly of Okmulgee.
