WHY THE WHAT?

Until you ask the right questions, you never get the right answers.  Jesus helped people with this all through the Gospels.  He had an amazing way of elevating perspective from the temporary to the eternal.   

Children have a gift for poking at the depths with one simple question: "Why?"  A four-year old little girl was walking through the grocery store with her Mom when she looked up and asked, "Why do I always have to match my clothes and you don't?"

At first we laugh at the child's question, but then you begin to see how painfully revealing the honest answer could be.  Maybe Mommy loves her little girl but has grown to despise herself.  Possibly there is no motivation to look nice any longer, because her husband seems lost to her.  The 'what' is easy and seems even humorous, but the 'why' gets to the heart of the matter.     

Jesus had a conversation with a woman at the water well one day.  They started talking about water and ended up talking about "Spirit and Truth" - the 'Why' of life!  Children are intrinsically fascinated with the 'why' of life, but with experience there are hurts and disappointments.  In an effort to push back from the pain, we unknowingly settle for life long pursuits of 'what'.  It's called materialism.  You can get the job, the house, the promotion, the clothes, the car, the money, and the feeling - but if you don't get the 'Why', life is a vain race toward nothing. 

Steve Jobs died at 56 years old with close to $7 billion.  He was once quoted as saying, "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me."  If you don't learn why you were made and why Jesus died on a cross, you never come to the reason for life.  The world offers many false answers for why, but God's Word is the only beginning with a completed end.

Pam and I didn't buy our house because it was a house.  We bought our house so we could have a home to live in, spend time with God, and grow in Him.  Jesus sums up this thought with a profound question for you and I.  "Is not life greater in quality than food, and the body far above and more excellent than clothing?"  (Matthew 6:25)  The 'what' will never matter apart from the 'why'. 

Pray God's Word with me:

Father I don't live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes out of Your mouth.  You are my answer to 'why'.  The love of Christ controls and impels me!  I am led by You Holy Spirit, and therefore I don't fulfill the lust and cravings of the flesh.  I always have an answer for the hope that lies within me.