Rabun for the Gospel

Faith

Loneliness for Christmas?

By Cliff Lewis, Associate Pastor of Worship and Music, Clayton Baptist Church

We are a lonely culture. As our world has become increasingly “connected” through advances like the internet, satellite technology, social media, Zoom meetings, etc., our younger generations are desperate for real relationships. The suicide rate in America has steadily increased since the year 2000, illicit drug use has been surging over the last few years, and according to the latest data, almost half of the Gen Z generation (born from 1997-2012) have been diagnosed with at least one mental illness. Almost HALF! What in the world is happening when 1 out of every 2 people you meet ages 10-25 is mentally ill? The simplest and most obvious answer to why we see so many in America who are drug-addicted and despairing to the point of suicide, is that people feel lonely and purposeless. These massive societal problems are to be expected when people don’t know who they are and why they are here. Until relatively recently the vast majority of Americans believed that they were created by God. That one belief answers so many identity-related questions. If there is a God who created you, then there is a reason He created you. That great question about reason was once summed up by asking, “Who am I, and why am I here?” The problem for many in our culture today is that the so-called “scientific” answer our world now gives to those questions are that humans are just clumps of cells that occurred by random series of events that have no real design or purpose. The logical response to that type of thinking is to despair and to live for the moment and let individual desires lead you wherever you want to go. The real answer to the question of reason and purpose is found in God’s Word. Isaiah 43:7 says, “Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” We were created by God and for His glory! What an incredible truth. God made every human. He is the creator, and He doesn’t do anything without a reason for doing it. This verse tells us why he created us, namely, for His glory. What does it mean to be created for God’s glory? From the very beginning God created us to be with Him and to enjoy Him. In fact, in the first chapter of Genesis God even says that He created us like Him. Not exactly like Him, but in His image. Genesis 1:27-28 says, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” This passage shows that God made us for relationship with Him and with each other. It also tells us that we were made to care for and rule over the earth. Even though God created us to be with Him and to have relationship with each other, we rejected that design. Genesis goes on to describe how Adam and Eve listened to the lie that God was withholding something better from them. They believed that a specific bit of knowledge was better than the perfect presence of their Creator. They chose the pride of becoming godlike over a perfect relationship with the only, Holy God. That is the greatest tragedy in human history and the epitome of sin itself. God has continually expressed His desire and design for humanity by giving us Himself. After Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden and God’s perfect presence, God began the process of revealing His perfect plan throughout the generations. He told Noah of His plan to save Noah and his family and restore the relationship with him. Later, God led the Israelites with His fiery presence and gave His commandments and showed Himself to Moses. After that, God would give His glory to the people through His presence in the Tabernacle and Temple. Then, a little more than 2,000 years ago, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to be present on earth. His name would be called Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” And even though so many rejected, and ultimately, killed Jesus, God raised Him from the dead. The plan and design for humanity is not finished. God will one day finally remove sin and death, and anyone who has trusted in Christ for their salvation and reconciliation with God will be with Him forever. Revelation 21:2-3 tells us of that ultimate future awaiting His children, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.’” Surrounded by family and friends at Christmas is wonderful, but don’t let Christmas come and go this year without submitting to your Creator and rejoicing in His design for you. He wants you to be with Him forever...

Cliff Lewis is the Associate Pastor of Worship & Music at Clayton Baptist Church, located at 87 South Church Street in Clayton, Georgia. He leads God-centered music each week, preaches on occasion and is an all-around great guy. Cliff loves his wife and kids, is a fan of the Crimson Tide and Narnia is his favorite movie.