Finding Answers and Meaning

Yes, we want to understand why life exists - and especially why we are here.  Moreover, we should be interested in people who have not yet concluded that there is a Creator and certainly know little about his ways.  Or think of those whose background involves a concept of God very different from what the Bible presents.  Billions have grown up in the Orient or in other places where most people do not think of a personal God, a real being with an appealing personality.  To them the word "God" may evoke an impression of  a vague force or an abstract cause.  They have not 'come to know the Creator '  or his ways.  If they, or millions with similar views, could become convinced that the Creator  exists, what benefits they could receive, including everlasting prospects!  They could also gain something that is rare  indeed -real meaning, real purpose and peace of  mind, in life. 

To illustrate:  In 1891, French artist Paul Gauguin went to find a fulfilling life in French Polynesia, in a virtual paradise.  But his dissolute past soon brought disease to himself and others.  As he felt death approaching, he painted a large canvas in which he seemed  to 'interpret  life as a great mystery.'   Do you know what Gauguin named that painting   "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?"  You may have heard others ask similar questions.  Many do.   But when they find no satisfying answers - no meaning in life - where can they go?  They may conclude that their life differs little from that of the animals. -2 Peter 2:12.

You can thus understand why someone like professor of physics Freeman Dyson could write:  "I stand in good company when I ask again the questions Job asked.  Why do we suffer?   Why is the world so unjust? What is the purpose of pain and tragedy?"   (Job  3:20, 21; 10:2, 18; 21:7)  As mentioned, many people turn to science for answers instead of to God.  Biologists, oceanographers, and others are adding to the knowledge about our globe and life on it.  Searching in another direction, astronomers and physicists are learning ever more about our solar system, the stars, even distant galaxies.  (Compare Genesis 11:6)  To what reasonable conclusions can such facts point? 

Some scientists speak of the "mind" of God or the "Handwriting" revealed in the universe.  But might that miss the key point?  Science magazine observed:  "When researchers say cosmology reveals the 'mind'  or 'handwriting' of God, they are ascribing to the divine   what ultimately may be the lesser aspect of the universe - its physical structure."  In fact, Nobel  laureate physicist Steven Weinberg wrote:  "The more it also seems pointless."

Still, you may be among the millions who have seriously studied the matter and who grasp that real meaning in life relates to knowing the Creator.  Recall what the apostle Paul wrote:  "Men cannot say they do not know about God.  From the beginning of the world, men could see what God is like through the things He has made.  This shows that He is  God."  (Romans 1:20, Holy Bible, New Life Version)  Yes, there are facts about our world and about us that can help people to recognize the Creator and to find meaning in connection with him.  Consider three aspects of this: the universe around us, the origin of life, and our own mental abilities.

Next time:  Reasons to Believe

The Watchtower, 1999