When I was eight years old, I vividly remember walking outside into the darkness and looking up at a brilliant sky filled with stars. Suddenly out of nowhere, this question broke the silence, “What will I be when I grow up?” “Well maybe a teacher or a preacher, maybe a nurse. But best of all maybe a missionary. They get to travel the world and have amazing adventures.” As I grew and matured, this question haunted me.
I am the worst camper in the world. I distinctly hate camping because any time I ever slept in a tent, I always ended up putting my sleeping bag on a rock! At church camp, I admit I was a holy terror to my counselor because I loved to prank others. But camp was about more than playing pranks or giving the counselor a hard time. It was about fresh encounters with God.
In my fifteenth year, I jumped into a car with other happy campers and off we went. “O, boy,” I thought, “No chores this week and think of all the ways I can scare those timid, prissy girls.” Little did I know, God had much more for me than childish pranks. On day three, the Holy Spirit broke in. A young athletic guy had broken his collar bone. When he was prayed for the metal pin holding his broken collar bone together popped out. The next day he was on the ballfield enjoying baseball.
In those days the Holy Spirit came near. Many were filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and many fell to the ground as they were overwhelmed by the Spirit. One evening as I knelt, I too fell to the ground and everything got very quiet. I wasn’t aware of anyone else in the room, instead I saw myself transported to Africa. Two or three of us were going up a broad river in a canoe-like structure. After a while we came to a village, got out and began preaching the Good News. I knew that was my village and had the distinct impression that it was in Central Africa.
Adolescence is hard. Sooner or later, we begin to be plagued with questions, “Who am I? What career should I pursue? What is my purpose in life?” This happens to everyone. As one who believed in the existence of God and his love for me, I knew I was more than a few cells that evolved and emerged after billions of years. I knew I had a purpose and pursued God to discover what it was. For those who deny there is a God, all that’s left is the emptiness of knowing one’s existence is totally meaningless. Only hopelessness and insignificance inhabit the inner thoughts of atheists and agnostics.
Purpose and meaning can only come from knowing God. A God who loved us so much he sent his one and only Son to come and live as one of us and ultimately lay down his life for us. The only way we can be freed from our hopelessness and sense of worthlessness is to reach out and accept his unconditional love. Admit our failures and ask for forgiveness. When you know God’s purpose for you, life becomes an adventure with meaning – a journey filled with a sense of his closeness and love. After serving him more than 50 years, I can say it is the best life possible.