Some time ago during a day at the gym where I exercise, a group of men in the locker room were getting prepared to engage in a game of racquetball. Their conversation was loud and jocular and they were having a good time poking fun at one another with the occasional boast of who would win their game that day. While I don’t remember the subject of their conversation, one of the gentlemen responded to what he believed to be an impossible question to answer. His answer to that impossible question was to submit another question which he believed to be impossible to answer: “What is the meaning of life?” His statement generated laughter and nodding heads among his cadre of friends.
That question, along with others, constitute what may be described as the big questions of life. Questions that everyone will ask as we seek to make sense of the world we live in. These questions lead us to think beyond the simple answers of “yes” and “no” to actually processing what we believe to be true. And in finding truth, to identify where we fit into it all.
Some of the big questions are found in the following five:
– Where do I come from? (before birth)
– Who am I? (identity)
– Why am I here? (purpose, meaning of life)
– How do I live? (right and wrong)
– Where am I going? (after death)
the simple answers of “yes” and “no”
to actually processing what we believe to be true.
And in finding truth, to identify where we fit into it all.
Your son will spend time thinking about these questions as he grows up. From his teenage years and often into his 20’s and beyond, these questions will continue to surface. Robert Hicks* stated that “to be really alive a man needs a vision, a meaning for his life.” Helping your son process these questions as he grows up is a tremendous gift. These questions do have answers. Many will find and pursue the wrong answers. Jesus once said that “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”* NIV God has the right answers to these questions. They are found in His Word.
Perhaps this week, Dad, you could take one question at the dinner table and see what answers your son might have. How does the world answer this question and what does the Bible say? It holds promise for a great Bible study and discussion together. What we believe matters. We live what we believe.
My hope is to reconnect with the young man in the gym again. His name is Jason. Looking to find out if he has given up trying to find the answer to that impossible question yet or if he is open to finding real answers to life. Hoping and praying it’s the latter.
*Luke 18:27
*Robert Hicks, The Masculine Journey, pg. 132
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KIRK THOMSEN
"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19
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