This is a question that has been on peoples lips from the very beginning of time.

Has anyone every really discovered the purpose for living??

Well, I hope that this blog post will shed a little light on the subject for you.

A few things happened during my week which compelled me to write on this subject.

The first pillar of this story was set when I stumbled upon a YouTube clip which was the testimony of a man who died during his operation, met with God and then came back to tell the tale. This is not a subject that I would usually be drawn to and YouTube is not a medium that I spend much time exploring – I am a bit of a techno rebel. I Love it and I hate it. I love that it is a platform which enables us to read and write inspiring stories and truths, but I hate it, because in so many ways, it consumes people’s lives to such an extent that they forget how to live their actual life.

Interesting start, isn’t it? When we are asking about the meaning of life.

The second pillar was placed when I listened to a man sharing about How the Lord has touched him and helped him learn the most important lesson in his life.

And the third pillar was melodramatically raised from the ground when all the residents in our community received an email of complaint from the people who govern our community. This email was in fact the subtle trigger that the Lord used to lay this message on my heart.

The truth of this tale began to unravel when I started to process the “offensive’ email and unpack the details of it. I was moved from my initial place of irritation and absolute annoyance to a place of hope and light and love.

So what is this story actually all about??

It is all about LOVE!

God created us to be the objects of his love. God is love. He has so much love to give and he created humanity so that he could lavish us with his love.

In fact he placed in us a yearning to experience His incredible love.

Because, He wants to be in a love relationship with us.

He wants us to be us to be in a love relationship with him and he wants us to be in a love relationship with each other.

If there is love, there is peace.

If there is love, there is no bickering or bantering or blaming.

If there is love, there is open and honest conversation, where people speak in love and react in love.

It sounds almost euphoric. So far from our reality in which we live.

So, back to the email.  It was addressing the issue of dogs that had been spotted roaming the common areas without their owners or just off a lead. There was also a concern about owners not picking up their dog poop.

Of course, these are very valid complaints, especially if you are not a doggy person. But I am a doggy person and I really do try to be a responsible pet-owner even though sometimes my dog does get out of our property without my knowledge, and sometimes I do walk my dog off the lead, and sometimes I even neglect to pick up her poop (but only if it is way off the path and hidden in the bush)

But it occurred to me that if everything could be routed in love, we would be able to live in a happy place without feeling the claustrophobic crush of rules and regulations.

If we were all considerate to one another and picked up our dog poop, then there would be no need for threats and no need for complaining. If we could all take responsibility for the behavior of our dogs, by keeping them on a lead if they are nippy or allowing them freedom if they are well socialized and love people and other dogs, then there would be no need for threats or complaining. And if we could go and talk directly to the people who are doing something that is upsetting us, rather than sending out a critical email and if they could respond in a way that is compassionate and understanding, then the world would be a much better place.

I know this doesn’t really sound realistic, but it is LOVE. It kind of puts a flashlight on how little love and consideration there is around us.

This need for rules and regulations in fact, began way back in the desert after God had rescued the Israelites from their life of slavery in Egypt.  The Israelites were vast in number, hundreds of thousands all living in a mobile community as they journeyed towards the promised land. Moses spent all day every day, listening to the complaints that the people had against one another and acted as judge over all the people. And then God gave them the 10 commandments, as a guide to show them how to behave towards one another in community.  The last five commandment go something like this; Honor your father and mother. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not covent.  It is all so obvious isn’t it?  They are not unreasonable rules.  They were simply there to show the people how to live in love and consideration towards one another.

And that is exactly why we have rules and regulations in our society today. But this incident and the emotions that it stirred, gave me an insight into the world as it is and the world as God intended it to be. I guess the story is kind of like a parable, to help us understand a world with love and a world without it.

If love ruled, there would be little reason for other rules.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-6, we read about perfect love.

Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, ⁵ never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. ⁶ It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. 

If we could all just act in love and be more considerate. If we all talked to each other instead of about each other.

If we all loved just a little more – the world would be an awesome place.

Let’s go back to the first pillar, where the man had a near death experience. In the clip, the man says that God asked him if he had any questions that he would like answered. At the time, he just could not think of any. Not surprising, but finally he thought to ask ‘What is the meaning of life’. At this point, he says he sensed God smiling. He was not allowed to look directly at God, but he had a strong sense of His movement and His expression.

Just before it was time for him to go back home, God embraced him and at that time, he experienced such an overwhelming sense of LOVE that in that very instant he knew that that was it! The meaning of life is LOVE!

The second pillar of our story was of the guy who shared in church. God was taking him on a journey of teaching him how to love others. He had struggled with trust and love all his life but now that Lord was showing him, filling him with a supernatural love for others – to such an extent that he could not help but share his experience.

Then, at the end of the week, there was a fourth pillar that completely rounded it all off for me – stabilized and embedded this truth.

I had the wonderful privilege of counseling someone for the very first time.

Because I was brand new at it, I was totally trusting God to lead the way.

Right at the end of our session, I asked if they could think of a word that would represent their ‘safe place’. A place, that they could go to, when they were struggling to cope. The word, without any form of prompting, was ‘Love’.

Their explanation was this. ‘When they feel loved, they can cope with anything.’

Embrace Gods love.

Let Gods love be the foundation on which your life rests.