On Life

The more one thinks on life itself,

The more perplexing it will seem.

There seems no rhyme or reason there,

No purpose clearly seen.

. . .

From generation to generation;

From Stone-Age man in early days,

To a complex human being.

. . .

But the question must still be raised,

What purpose does life fulfill?

Why was man put on the earth

With power to think and reason?

I search in vain for an answer true,

I fear, until I die,

But when I face the only God,

Then will I know the reason why?

 ---Assignment for a literature class, April 23, 1964

            My high school experience had been positive, but I was confused about the future.  John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.  The sexual revolution was eroding moral foundations I assumed good.  The Viet Nam War would make my generation pawns on a political chessboard.  What is truth? Where am I going? Is there any purpose in life?

            I began my first year studies in Physics at a prestigious university far from home. I would find answers in science.  Yet, instead, my questions were deeper and harder.  I found little purpose in studies and even less in social involvement.  I rejected my family religion as unnecessary and irrelevant.  God? If he existed, was not there for me.  Yet…What is truth? Where am I going? Is there purpose in life?

            Out of respect for a friend I attended a discussion about Christianity.  Irrelevant.  Forgetful.  But the people were friendly.  Someone invited me to a conversation.  We discussed the possibility of a personal relationship with God.  Maybe, but not for me.  Jesus Christ? Interesting, but the story seemed so ancient.

            I continued my search. Studies that didn’t satisfy; relationships that were not real, pathways that had no purpose. Only increasing despair and hopelessness.

            One day I entered again into a discussion about God.  As we talked, I recognized what I had heard weeks earlier.  God loves you and has a purpose for your life; Jesus shows us God’s plan; I listened with interest but with questions.  I challenged, he answered.  At the end of the conversation I was up for an experiment.  Accept the gift of God, trust Jesus Christ for his offer of life.  I uttered a simple prayer of trust.  “Jesus I want to know you.  I trust you.” 

            In the days that followed I sensed a change; a different way of looking at things. I entered into dialogue with God and read about his offer of true life; I sensed his presence.  The questions I had asked so often, “Where am I going? What is truth? Is there purpose in life?” began to find their answer in Jesus’ words in John 14:6:

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father unless he comes through me.”

            The journey began in 1965; I no longer wait for answers to the questions I raised in that simple poem.  I found them in Jesus Christ.

Dr. Edward Murray

ed@murrayteam.net