For some of my friends, it is over and done. No more asking or wondering. They have their answer. It's simple, uncluttered, concise, matter of fact, however harsh or truncated that may be. Nothing to nothing completes their circle. But what am I to do? There are literally myriad concepts about origins and dieties, divine directives, universal laws, Judgements and punishments. Its enough to make even the most curious and open minded person retreat into the simplicily and relative peace my unbelieving friends display. Nevertheless, I can't abide the fatalistic, nihilistic, existential oblivion of materialism. I believe there is a path to certainty concerning real, objective meaning, value and hope. Through danger, toil and snare and exhilarating beauty of indescribable new lands, I follow the trail.
Someone I deeply respect and trust once told me, "People are always telling you to go here or there or do this or that to find the “secret” of life but don’t go after them because the life you seek is within you.” What I found inside me was a big emptiness. I asked my friend about that. He told me to describe it. It was a longing, an ache. It was the cry of a child for its mother and father. The moment I described the longing, there with my friend, the answer emerged and the secret was uncovered. My heart called, “Father?” And then I felt the response which changed everything about me: “Son...”
At that moment I knew that I am a child of God. I realized that I have a heavenly parent who loves me deeply and wants to fill all the empty places inside me. I realized that my value as a person is not determined by what I do but who I am, that is, who it is that values me. I have a giddy feeling now, like being a kid again. This time though, everything has special meaning. I’m discovering the real life I had missed growing up. It’s a second chance. This time I’m on my path with someone who really knows me and knows what life and death are all about! I have found my eternal home and my true resting place. Yes. I believe.