Monday, October 9, 2017
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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, no. I went away for a little while, came back, and the grass was now taking over. (Get your machete, Ron.) Well, I played with my mower again and again, and it still didn't respond. We were starting to look like maybe the set of a "Tarzan" movie. And my mower, oh it didn't care. So I started looking for alternative equipment to get the job done. Let's see, my hair clippers. Yeah, how about that uh...the ones you use for your haircuts? I was desperate, but I did not try to cut the grass with my hair clippers. No, they work great on hair; they would not work great 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 today about "Missing Your Meaning."
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, have to admit that in their honest moments it's still not very fulfilling. The meaning just isn't there. 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. Of course 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, "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 Grand Canyon between you and God could finally 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. It's like coming home. If you'd like to, why don't you tell Jesus that right now? Tell Him 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 on this most important day to understand exactly how to get started with Jesus. That's why our website's there. I invite you to go to ANewStory.com, because I think it could be the beginning of a new story for you.
You've done enough days without the meaning you were made for haven't you; without the Savior you were made for? If you'll open your heart, you have just spent your last day without Him.