On Questioning our Existence

The two important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why

-Mark Twain

Have you asked yourself what is the purpose of your life here on earth?  Every one of us walks on different paths of life.  Some are straight, others are crooked; but it doesn’t matter because our eyes are already fixed to reach a certain goal that will make us fulfilled, successful, happy, and contented.  But, is struggling for the sake of reaching out certain goals in our lives the real purpose of our existence here on earth?

Why we exist?  We exist because of a certain purpose in our lives.  What is that purpose?  Is it something real that we should struggle for it?  Is it should be something extraordinary that we should die ourselves for it?  As I reflected upon the purpose of my existence here on earth, one word popped-up into my mind, i.e. LOVE.  Yes, it is LOVE.  To LOVE is our real purpose why we exist here on earth.  We are born to LOVE and be LOVED.  The reason of our existence will never be determined its significance unless it is deeply rooted and founded in LOVE.  Why LOVE?  Why not success, glory, fame, or honor?  We exist because of LOVE and LOVE is the only answer to the question why we were born here on earth.

We strive to be happy and fulfilled in life.  We really do our best in order to achieve these things as our heart’s desires.  But, if happiness and fulfillment has no love to guarantee and has no love to yield on, could it still be called happiness and fulfillment?  No.  Love is the prerequisite of happiness and fulfillment, so it’s hard to be happy and fulfilled without LOVE and also if we don’t have the willingness to LOVE with all our heart.  Ever since when we were still in the womb of our mother, God have first manifested His LOVE on us.  Thus, this is the purpose of our live, i.e. to share the LOVE that God has given to us as a gift and consolation when we were still in the womb.  Hence, LOVE is the sole reason why we exist and we have also the duty to share this reason as we journey onto different paths here on earth.

#tidbitsforlife (You’re Unique in the Eyes of God)

Our life is a mission, so we are born with a purpose and reason.  All of us were given by God gifts that will be very useful for our growth and our journey along the path of fulfillment.  In the eyes of God, all of us have potentialities and capacities to live life in the fullest, so we must not be discouraged when others do not believe and appreciate our potentialities and capacities.

As a person who also believes that we are all unique, I am really doing my very best to inculcate within my mind and heart the attitude of appreciating other’s potentialities and capacities.  I believe starting to appreciate other’s potentialities and capacities would motivate them not to be discouraged in fulfilling their dreams and aspirations in life.  Appreciation is a driving force that will lead us into a better perspective in life.  Why is it hard for us to appreciate others?  Because we are fond of looking on their negative sides.  Even the upbringing nowadays, only few of us presents the beauty of optimism and uniqueness to others.  Majority of what the world is offering to our rationality and awareness are all about pessimisms and unpleasant things, so fall into the temptation of the so-called “depreciation” which destroys the dignity and identity of others.

We should not underestimate this emerging factor into our lives.  Let us value the significance of appreciating other’s gift and uniqueness in life.  It’s nice to see people appreciating other people without any barriers of bias and doubt.  Appreciation is a gift that we should not let others be deprived of it.  If God appreciates us despite the fact that we are fragile and limited, let us be like Him who truly appreciates us and considers us as apple of His eyes.

The Generosity of God

God’s thoughts and ways are not the same with ours.  God knows what is proper and good for us, so the only thing that we should do in order to know and understand His plan for our lives is to participate and cooperate in His will.  He “hired” us for a purpose and mission, so we should not degrade ourselves that our existence here on earth has no meaning at all.  Our life is purpose-driven so we are being called by God to do His will every day.  At the end of the day, just like the laborers in the gospel for today, we are being called by God to receive our “pay” as we do our best in following His will.  But, only to find out that the cost we received from our effort in following His will is but as usual daily “wage” the same with others who have just only been called by God at the moment they seek Him and found Him.  At first, we will react immediately that this is unfair and unjust, but at hindsight, there’s a lesson that we should understand, consider, and be aware of.

The gospel for this Sunday does not talk about the “wage’ itself which the laborers received; but it talks about the generosity of God which is equal for all of us.  As we are being called by God, He does not expect only for the result of our labor, but more importantly on how we respond to His call.  Simply put, God is not a result-oriented God.  Even though sometimes we fall short in answering to His call, He still shows His generosity to us which is unconditional and compassionate.  God does not also play favorites.  He treat us equally regardless of the kind of person that we are-righteous or sinner.  His grace is sufficient for all of us, and the only manner that we should present to Him is our capacity to receive His grace with joy and contentment.

Actually, we are far from the characteristic of God as a considerate God.  We are result-oriented individuals.  We exert our efforts according to the expectations of the people around us.  We strive with our best not for maturity, but for excellent grades or better results because the world of today shows to us this idea; better result is equal to better opportunities and less worries.  On the contrary, a poor result is equal to poor opportunities and more worries.  We are the ones who invented these things which created a lot of complexities in life.  Why crave for excellent grade and better results if God doesn’t need these things but only our growth, and our maturity?  Hence the gospel of today is challenging us to deepen our obedience towards His call.  Obeying is not all about striving for the sake of fulfilling the expectations of others and to crave for better results; it’s all about our generous response and generous following towards His call and to be contented on what God could give as a cost for obeying His will.  It’s demanding, but this is what the gospel means by loving God with all our heart and soul and strength.