Deep in the soul is a desire for one’s life to matter. It is a longing which aligns with God’s Word. Every soul is of immense value to the Creator; every life matters to God. Yet, the realities of this earthly walk cast shadows that cry out with the words of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived: “Meaningless, utterly meaningless.” God’s love seems to be a fairy tale we’ve outgrown; the shadows threaten to suffocate us. We fail to remember they are only shadows. Solomon’s father, David called this world the ‘valley of the shadow of death.’ Yet he knew how to walk in the midst of shadows enjoying the blessings of God without fear. We can, too. The love of God is not a fairy tale. Every life matters.
The shadow of death takes on many forms, yet, its source is singular: sin. We live in a world broken by sin. That brokenness often blinds us to the potential and perfection of the Creator’s design. The flame of our desire for a life of meaning flickers in the mundane realities of life and sputters to an ember in the storms: physical bodies wracked with pain and limitations, hearts broken, violence encountered, death faced. Our hearts doubt in the existence of a loving, all-powerful God. The shadows feel like reality; heart desires for meaning and purpose feel like a childish dream. But shadows are not reality; that desire is truth longing to be found. God is loving and powerful and His purposes in line with His perfect design...
Our earthly life is a gift from the Creator and the purpose of our journey is to discover the Giver. It is that discovery which fulfills the longing of every heart. Strangely enough, the shadow of death is needed to help us find our way. The love of God is so pure and bright, it can only be seen through experience and through the backdrop of suffering. By design, we live and move in this earthly world of brokenness…a world of activities and people in which we can make choices and feel the results of those choices. We become consumed with the joys and challenges in our journey; we seek to find meaning in the details of our days. Yet the grand purpose of God is much higher than the joys of this earthly life and much deeper than the heartaches we encounter. To reach the potential God has worked into the design of the soul, we must connect with the source of life. The darkness forces us to seek what we would otherwise ignore. The suffering of life compels us to reach higher…to refuse to settle for this world and grasp for the divine plan.
The longing of the heart of God was to create a being with a potential to think, to understand, to love and to make the choice for good. The pure, sacrificial, purposeful love of God could be expressed with no lesser creation than humanity. That love is poured into every soul; it is the priceless treasure of our soul. Our lives matter. Every choice we make in this shadow land is an etching in the landscape of eternity. We are writing a legacy in the details of our days with the choices we make; the ink is eternal. Our lives matter because they are part of a far grander legacy. Our lives are part of the heritage of the love of the Creator. Faith in that love, in its evidence on the Cross of Calvary and in the resurrected life of Christ is the victory that defeats the shadows. Live your life in the legacy of God’s love and you will light the path of others. Your life will matter; your desire fulfilled!
