Monday, October 23, 2006
Tall grass, dead mower. That was my sad situation last spring. I tried everything to get my power mower going, but it really didn't want to start. Of course, that didn't stop the lawn from growing. I went away for a little while, came back, and the grass was now taking over. I played with my mower again and again, and it still didn't respond. We were starting to look like the set of a "Tarzan" movie and, of course, my mower didn't care. So I started looking for alternative equipment to get the job done. Let's see now, my hair clippers were working fine; you know, the kind you use for haircuts. I was desperate but, no, I did not try to cut the grass with my hair clippers. See, they work great on hair; they would not work on my lawn. But, on the other hand, how would you like to get your hair cut with a lawn mower?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You
You say, "Ron, what's that all about?" Well, you'd have to wonder about someone who tried to use hair clippers to trim a lawn or a lawn mower to trim hair. They both work fine when you use them as they were supposed to be used. But machines don't work when you use them for something they weren't designed for and neither do we.
And right there is the reason so many of us are wondering what the meaning of our life really is; why we still don't know the answer to life's most fundamental question "Why am I here?" We're missing what we were designed for and things just don't seem to be working. Even people who are enjoying a lot of success, whose life is pretty smooth sailing, have to admit that in their honest moments it's still not very fulfilling. The meaning is still missing; the peace isn't there. And when we're not living like we were designed to, things just don't work very well. Marriage doesn't work like it's supposed to, relationships don't, even our achievements. There's never enough love, never enough excitement, and never any real peace.
Time to break out the Manufacturer's instructions. I mean, the Manufacturer of you and me. Here's how your Creator says you were designed to live. Put your life next to this blueprint and see how you're doing. It's in our word for today from the Word of God in Colossians 1:16. Speaking of Jesus Christ, God says here, "All things were created by Him and for Him."
There's your created destiny in six words, "Created by Jesus and for Jesus." Like the earth was created to revolve around the sun, you and I were created to revolve our life around the One who made us, but we don't. The reality is more like this: "Created for Him - living for me. In the Bible's words, "Each of us has turned to his own way" ( Isaiah 53:6).
If you're missing the meaning of it all, it's because you're missing the One who gives life meaning; the One who gave you your life in the first place and the One who gave His life so you could get back to your Creator. Jesus died on the cross to pay the death penalty for all of your "me first" choices so that that Grand Canyon between you and God could be bridged. So you could finally know the peace of being who you were made to be - of belonging to the One whose love you were made for.
Maybe you're ready to begin this awesome personal relationship with your Creator God. If you'd like to, why don't you tell Jesus that right now? Tell Him that you're putting all your trust in Him to be your rescuer from your sin, because only He died to forgive it. And only He had the power to walk out of His grave under His own power. I would really be honored to be able to help you, in a time like this, understand exactly how to get started with Jesus. In fact, we've set up our website so it would help you at a time like this. And I want to invite you to go there. It's yoursforlife.net, and you'll find there a simple, non-religious explanation of how to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. Or in you would like to get this in booklet form, I would love to send you the booklet "Yours For Life" that I wrote about beginning life's most important relationship. You could just call for it at 877-741-1200.
You've done enough days without the meaning you were made for; without the Savior you were made for. If you'll open your heart, you have just spent your last day without Him.