Why Are You Here?

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I can remember, as a child, I asked my mother: “Mom, if you hadn’t had me, who would have had me?” In response, my mother just gave me a long look and then she said: “Boy! Go somewhere and play!” She never answered my question and believe it or not, after all this time, I am still curious to know the answer!

My question to my Mom might be one that cannot be answered, but there is a question that everyone should have an answer for! That question is the question of the purpose for your sojourn here on this earth. Now, I am not talking about general purpose, I’m talking about specific purpose. The Westminster Catechism says that man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. So, the general purpose of man is to glorify God, but how do we do that? Everybody doesn’t glorify God exactly the same way! Jesus gave us a hint in John 17. As he prayed, he said to his Father in verse 4: “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” (ESV) So, we can deduct from the prayer of Jesus that a person glorifies God, thereby fulfilling God’s purpose, by accomplishing the work that God has given him or her to do. Therefore, you can answer the original question by finding out what “the work” is that God has given you to do.

The work of Moses was to lead the Children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. The work of Joshua was to lead the Children of Israel to inherit and possess the Promised Land. The work of Jesus was to die on the cross and be raised from the dead for the redemption of mankind. The work of the Apostle Paul was to establish the church among the non-Jewish peoples. The work of Martin Luther was to spark the Reformation. The work of Abraham Lincoln was to save the Union and free the slaves. The work of Martin Luther King, Jr., was to lead the non-violent civil rights moment. Now, we know about all these individuals, but they were not so unique in the sense that they were the only ones in their generation given a specific work to do. Every person has a calling (a work) and has been equipped to do a specific work.

The main goal or purpose of any individual’s life is not to make money or to be successful, but rather to find their specific work (purpose for being) and engage in that work with all of their strength. You are here in this particular season for a specific reason! Your main pursuit in life should not be success or fame, but rather purpose! Sometimes success and/or fame will come with purpose, sometimes it will not. And if your calling is one that does not bring you notoriety, don’t think little of it. The work that God has called you to do is just as important as the work of Abraham, Moses, the Apostle Paul, or Martin Luther!

However, the one of the greatest tragedies of life is to go through life and even die without ever knowing and/or fulfilling your purpose! It is a tragedy to die without ever knowing why you were born! And as I look around today, the tragedy of people leaving without ever knowing why they came is all too common!

A Real Friend

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Do you have any real friends? Most likely, you have many acquaintances, but very few real friends! Many of the people who are hanging around your life today are really superficial and will tell you only what you want to hear, when you want to hear it; just to be your “so-called” friend! But, a real friend will tell you when your slip is hanging, when your pants zipper is opened, or when your breath is bad! A real friend will tell you, in a diplomatic way of course, that you need to make some improvements, when everybody else is telling you that you got it going on!

Learn to appreciate your real friends! It is better to be alone than to be surrounded by false friends! There are some people that you will need to jettison from your life! Here are just a few: Get rid of, or minimize your contact with the “Kill-Joys” in your life! These are the people who rain of your parade because they are jealous of your progress or success! Stay away from the “Whiners!” These are the people who constantly complain and seek to monopolize your time with their pseudo-problems! You can easily tell who these people are: They are the ones who want you to always listen to them, but they never have time to really listen to you! Misery loves company, but the company doesn’t have to be you! Get rid of the “Kiss-Butts!” These are the people who are afraid of being truthful and honest with you because they fear that they will lose the advantage of being associated with you! (You must understand that there are some people who are hanging around you only because of what they think they can get out of it!) These people will tell you whatever you want to hear, whenever you want to hear it! They will tell you that you are right, when it is obvious to you, them, and anyone else with a moral compass, that you are wrong!

How do you know whether or not you have a real friend? A real friend will always challenge you to be the best that you can be! A real friend will tell you when you “act foolishly” but with the same breath will remind you that you are not a fool! A real friend is not jealous of your success, nor jubilant in your defeat. Instead, a real friend shares in the glory of your victory and the agony of your defeat! A real friend knows when to leave you alone when you really don’t want to be bothered but knows when and how to stick around when you say that you don’t want to be bothered, but you really don’t want to be left alone! A real friend is wise enough to support your decisions that they don’t agree with, and if it should turn out that they were right and you were wrong, they will not gloat by saying: “I told you so!” A real friend appreciates your individuality and doesn’t seek to make you a “clone!” If you have a real friend, you are truly blessed!

The Learning Shortcut

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Many people have heard of the term, “the learning curve” but few people are aware of “the learning shortcut!” We have been taught from childhood, that experience is the best teacher! And it is true; practice has always been a more effective learning tool than theory! But what many people fail to realize is that all of the experiences you learn from don’t necessarily have to be your own! You shouldn’t have to learn all of your lessons from your own mistakes; you should also learn from the mistakes of others! If you see twenty people attempting to cross a certain street and every one of them is struck by a “Mack” truck, it would be a good idea for you to analyze their mistakes before you attempted to cross that street! Even the Bible advocates that we take the learning shortcut! The Apostle Paul, in referring to the error the Children of Israel made in the “golden calf” incident during the time of Moses, wrote: “Now these things occurred as examples to us, so that we might not desire evil as they did . . . These things happened to them to serve as an example and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the end of the ages have come.” (I Cor. 10:6; 11 NRSV)

You see life is too short for you to personally experience all the things you need to experience in order to determine what will and what will not work! Many people are living a life of frustrating defeat because they are constantly trying to re-invent the wheel! Whatever you are going through, you can be assured that somebody, at some time, has already been through it! My parents used to try to relate this to me by saying: “Son, we’ve already been where you are trying to go!” People today put it this way: “Been there! Done that!”

So learn to take “the learning shortcut!” You will get to your destination much quicker if you, not only learn from your own mistakes, but also from the mistakes of others! In fact, if you will be careful to learn from the experiences of other people, you will not make as many mistakes yourself as you would have otherwise.

Nicodemus and the Woman of Samaria

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Most people do not realize it, but biblical authors and compilers were strategic and deliberate in how they arranged their material. Many times, what is not explicitly revealed in the text is implicitly revealed in the arrangement of the text. I believe this is the case in John chapters 3 and 4. They serve as “bookends” to illustrate the point that whether a person is of high social rank and status or whether they are of what could be called: “low-class,” they both have a common need to have a life-changing, life-saving encounter with Jesus. Now, let’s look at the comparison and contrast between the meetings that Jesus had with Nicodemus in John 3 and the Woman of Samaria in John 4.

The first comparison to note is the way the text introduces the two contrasting characters. John 3:1 says: “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.” John 4:7 says: “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water.” Note the contrast: The man of the Pharisees was religious, respected, and named! The wording of the text suggests that this “Woman of Samaria” was a person of questionable moral character. The contrast is between a man and a woman, a religious man and an immoral woman, a named man and an un-named woman. Note the timing of the meetings: Nicodemus came to Jesus by night (I call it “the meeting with Nick at Night!”); Jesus met the woman of Samaria in the middle of the day! Nicodemus knew who Jesus was and initiated the meeting; the woman didn’t know who Jesus was and it was Jesus who initiated the meeting. Jesus talked to Nicodemus on the religious theme of being born again, while he talked with the woman on the common theme of the need for (living) water.

Now, I’m not going to go into too much depth with this comparison, but I am somewhat struck by the irony of the conversations in the two meetings. One would have expected Nicodemus to understand what Jesus was talking about; but he didn’t! One would not have expected the woman of Samaria to understand, and although she too was confused, she understood to a greater degree than Nicodemus!

And then finally, compare the end-results. Nicodemus left his meeting and told no one. The woman of Samaria left her water pot, went downtown and told everyone! As a result of Nicodemus’ encounter, no one, except perhaps himself, was saved. But as a result of the woman’s encounter a whole village was evangelized! John 4:39-41 says: “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

What is the lesson for us? Could it be that sometimes “bad people” can indeed have a good testimony? Nicodemus felt that he had no need of salvation because he was already a “member, even a leader, of the church.”  However, it is not religion that saves us; it is a real and vital relationship with Jesus.

Give the “Lady” a Break!

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One of the most common exegetical mistakes we tend to make when studying the Bible is the mistake of judging the people of the ancient Eastern text by our modern Western standards. I believe we have done this with the woman of Samaria in John 4.

Every time I have heard this text preached or taught, this woman is betrayed as being the “Samaritan Nymphomaniac!” Yes! Jesus did say to her: “You have had five husbands and the one you are with now is not yours!” But was the fact that she had been through five husbands really her choice? I really don’t think it was! Let me show you what I am talking about: Although the Samaritans were considered “half-bred” Jews, they governed themselves according to the Jewish law. And according to the Jewish law at that time, a woman did not have a legal right to get a divorce! Only the husband had the right of divorce! So, if this woman had been with five husbands, it was more than likely that it was not because she had left them; but rather because they had left her! And beside the issue of a woman not being legally able to get a divorce, there was the matter of support. Women were not “liberated” in that day and culture, therefore the only way a woman was supported was by her father, until she was married, and then she was supported by her husband and finally, when her husband died, she was supported by her sons. If there were no sons, she usually went back to her father’s house. That is one of the reasons Jesus momentarily “stopped dying” on the cross. Apparently, Joseph had died prior to this time. Therefore, with him being the oldest son, it had been his responsibility to take care of his mother. So, with his death soon approaching, he wanted to make sure that his mother Mary was taken care of! So, the Bible says: “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19:26-27 ESV) So, I doubt very seriously, given the context of the time, that this woman was really just simply running from man to man. I think she had had five husbands because they had either left her through divorce and/or death and she had no sons.

So, by the time she met Jesus, she was tired! Tired of being disappointed by divorce and/or death! She was tired of men making commitments, only to be disappointed time, after time, after time! She was tired of being lied to by men who said they would be with her forever! Maybe she was tired of following caskets to the cemetery! I think that she was so tired of being disappointed that by the time she met Jesus, she had resigned herself to accepting “shacking” or “sharing!” Now, this is by no means an attempt to excuse her sin, but I think it is a more reasonable explanation of it! I think we have been unfair to her! I think we need to take another look at this text and give the “lady” a break!