Well, it is time for another installment of Counselor's Corner. The title of this article can mean several things. Why did you come to this webpage? Why did you get on the internet to begin with? Why did you wake up this morning to go to school or work? When you ask the question Why are you here, you get funny looks from time to time. My wife and I asked our youth in a recent meeting to write down all the things they could be doing from 6-8pm on a Sunday night instead of coming to UMYF. I won't go into all the various answers, but they were mainly homework, sleeping, or playing video games. Instead of doing any of that, our steady going few showed up at church on a Sunday night to listen to us talk.
Have you ever asked yourself why you are here? How did I get here from where I started? Here is one I ask myself. Why am I here writing an article on a webpage when I don't know if it will even be read by anyone, much less understood by anyone? I often get the feeling that no matter what I say or do, no one will listen to me. I feel helpless and frustrated when I think about it. I believe the stories in the Bible where God uses people in various ways to get His point across. The list of examples I could use goes on for miles. This still happens today. I know that God is using me to communicate to who ever will listen. I can only hope, in faith, that there is an audience here. That by reading this article, you may hear what God has to say to you today. The fact is this. The reason we are all here is simple. God loves each and everyone of us enough to put us here.
If we love Him in return, it becomes easier to follow His commandments and do His will. We should rejoice that we have the opportunity to praise the One who made us. Instead, most of us, don't act like we are thankful at all. We don't love our neighbors as ourselves, we spend our time and money on the frills of life rather than donate ourselves to God's service. We are all guilty of that some time in our lives. As best we try, we can not hope to measure up to God's standards. Seems a bit useless doesn't it?
I have some good news for you. And no, I did not save a ton of money by switching to Geico. When God gave us Jesus, he gave us a way to meet His standards. Jesus was a man, he walked among the dirtiest of the dirty. He knows what it feels like to be helpless. The difference is this, he died for us so that if we believe in Him, we will not go through life alone. We will not face death alone, and we will not sit at the judgement alone. When God opens up his book that he has on each of us, we will not be cast into Hell because of Jesus. Jesus is THE way. He is the ONLY way. John said it best in verse 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son. That who so ever believes in Him should not parish, but have everlasting life." What else do you need? That is why you are here. That is why we go to church, that is why we deal with life's trials and tribulations, that is why we are always searching for a deeper meaning to this world. That is why, because we need Jesus! If we have Jesus, what is the need for anything else??
