The Final Good For Us
MANY OF US equate the good life with the provision of the
prime necessities and the other amenities.
We tend to believed that food, shelter, and clothing coupled with
knowledge, wealth, and physical strength can secure for us a happy, peaceful, and prosperous life; that
these can solve our problems and give meaning to our existence.
Our experience
belies such thinking. It instead proves
that earthly knowledge, wealth, and physical strength are unreliable and
insufficient in securing life, much less in solving its problems.
The learned
King Solomon said:
“For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more
knowledge, the more grief.” (Eccl. 1:18, New International Version)
And neither
could riches and strength be relied upon securing life and in solving its
problems. The rich and the strong have
as much troubles and worries as do the ordinary individuals. Again, King Solomon rightly observed:
“A working man may or may not have enough to eat, but at
least he can get a good night’s sleep. A
rich man, however, has so much that he stays awake worrying.” (Ecc. 5:12, Today’s English Version)
This is not to
impugn, however, the fact that there are people who luckily enjoy the luxury of
health, wealth, wisdom, and knowledge.
But them, the complete meaning and significance of life lies not in the
possession of these things. God has this
to say to those who cling and give so much value to their earthly advantages:
“Wise men should not boast of their wisdom, nor strong
men of their strength, nor rich men of their wealth.” (Jer. 9:23, Ibid.)
God reminds us
that we should not think too highly of our wisdom, strength and riches. These are not the foundation of our life and,
therefore, they are not the final good for us.
What we should
understand
However
well-planned and well-intentioned our courses of action in pursuing our
aspirations are, more often than not, we fall short of the expected
outcomes. And granting that we have
achieved our present desires, there still is no telling when our craving for
more will finally end. Yet, we can only
achieve and do so much. In fact, by
ourselves alone, we cannot be certain of what is good for us in this life. This was underscored in Ecclesiastes 6:12,
which says:
“For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the
few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the
sun and after he is gone?” (NIV)
Indeed, there
are limitations as to what we may know and do in life. Besides our being mortal (Job 4:17-21), we
also do not know when and how death would come (Eccl. 8:8; 9:12). And the most debilitating reality is whatever
earthly possession we may enjoy in life, we will not take anything with us when
we die (Ps. 49:16-20).
Our
limitations and frailties deny us of a complete control over our own
lives. The prophet Jeremiah, recognizing
this truth, wrote:
“Lord, I Know that no one is the master of his own
destiny; no person has control over his own life.” (Jer. 10:23, TEV)
Does this mean then that we are forever doomed and helpless
in our situation? Are we in a tight fix
where there is no way out? What ought we
to know with regard to our life and that which is good for us? In Isaiah 48:17, God says:
“I am the Lord your God, the one who wants to teach you
for your own good and direct you in the way you should go.” (Ibid.)
We should
understand that only through God can we find certainty with regard to what is
good for us. We cannot just disregard
God and live by ourselves for He said:
“I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring
you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.”
(Jer. 29:11, Ibid)
We need God’s
guidance if we want to attain what is truly good for us. Even if we acquire all the material wealth in
this world, if we do not have God in our life, we would only end up in
perdition. Our Lord Jesus Christ clearly
portrayed this in His parable of the rich fool (Lk. 12:16-21). After having acquired the things which he
thought could assure him all the comforts of this life, the rich man in the
parable said this to himself:
“Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for
many years. Take life easy, eat, drink,
and enjoy yourself!” (Lk. 12:19, TEV)
In the midst
of his abundance, the rich man forgot God.
He thought he already had all “the good things” with the material wealth
in his possession, and thus called himself lucky. Yet God said otherwise. He called him a fool. And, indeed, he was, for his wealth would not
save his life. Furthermore, he wouldn’t
know what would become of his riches after his death. Such is the fate of “those who pile up riches
for themselves but are not rich in God’s sight”
(Lk. 12:21, Ibid.).
What we should
seek first
There is
nothing wrong with having all the essential requisites of life augmented by
knowledge, wealth, and sound health.
However, we should not worry so much about these things as though our
entire life depended on them. Our Lord
Jesus Christ emphatically taught that “one’s life does not consist in the
abundance of the things he possesses” (Lk. 12:15, New King James Version).
There is something above all these.
And this is that which we should seek before anything else. Our Lord Jesus Christ emphasized this to His
disciples:
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat’ or ‘What
shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ … But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt. 6:31, 33, NIV)
We should seed
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Once we find these, we need not have to worry anymore about our needs in
this life. God will surely provide us
these things, knowing fully that we need them also (Mt. 6:32).
What is God’s righteousness which we should seek first
together with His kingdom? This
is the Gospel or His words written in the Bible (Rom. 1:16-17). The kingdom
He was referring to was given to the flock
(Lk. 12:32). The flock, as clarified by Apostle Paul in Acts 20:28, is the Church of Christ:
“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock
over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of
Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Lamsa Translation)
The members of the Church of Christ,
therefore, are the ones who have found this kingdom.
Importance of
the Church of Christ
Why did Christ set God’s righteousness and His kingdom to be
on top of our priorities? What makes the
kingdom or the Church of Christ the most important in life? Apostle Paul’s letter to the Collosians
provides us with the answer:
“Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to
share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of
darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
(Col. 1:12-14, NIV)
Those who have
found the kingdom or who have joined the Church of Christ are rescued from the
dominion of darkness and are brought into the kingdom of light. Redeemed by Christ and forgiven of their
sins, they qualify as heirs of God’s promises.
No amount of wisdom and wealth could provide us all these spiritual
blessings.
That which is
good for us
What promise did Christ give His Church which is actually the
best assurance we can get in this short and problem-filled life? Apostle Matthew recorded Christ’s
enduring promise to His Church:
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on
this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail
against it.” (Mt. 16:18, Revised Standard Version)
The powers of
death shall not prevail over the members of the Church founded by Christ. This does not mean that they will no longer
die. Just like other mortal beings,
members of the Church of Christ also experience death. But, the psalmist explains how death will not
prevail over those who are of God:
“But God will rescue me; he will save me from the power
of death.” (Ps. 49:15, TEV)
Even if the
people of God die, they will be rescued from the power of death. They will be resurrected (I Thess. 4:16-17)
and saved from eternal punishment which is the second death in the lake of fire
(Rev. 20:14), such death being the payment for man’s sins (Rom. 6:23).
The Church of
Christ, therefore, is the only solution to our greatest problem which is
death. This is why we should seek first
the true Church first because this is where we can attain what is good for us,
that is, the salvation of our souls from the second death, the eternal
punishment in the lake of fire.
Pamphlet/Pasugo God’s Message/May
2001/Pages 21-22
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