When I was about 24, a couple of my friends got involved in a pyramid selling company. It was going to change their lives, they told me, they were going to be rich, they would never have to do an everyday job again. They were so enthusiastic that they arranged for their boss to come and give a talk to their other friends (that included me!) to recruit us. The man opened his talk by telling us just how dull our lives were. His spiel went like this:
“You get up, go to work, come home, have dinner, kick the dog, watch tv and go to bed. The next day you get up, go to work, come home, have dinner, kick the dog,
watch tv and go to bed.”
He repeated it several more times to emphasise just how pointless life was (to this day I don’t understand the kicking the dog bit!!), and then he went on to try to convince us that joining the company would completely change our lives for the better. He promised us fast cars, villas abroad and working when we chose – not when someone else tells us to. He didn’t succeed with any of us, and in fact it wasn’t long before our friends realised that they hadn’t signed up for the easy life they had been promised and left the company too.
But the thought of there being no real point to life did trouble me and I did wonder for a while whether we were missing out on something. Was that really all there was to life? And what would happen when we die? What was the point to it all? Well, I can tell you that there is more to life than what that guy said.
I became a Christian at the age of 30, after I heard that God loved the world so much that He gave the life of His only Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for us, so that we could be adopted into His family. Psalm 86 v 15 says “But you, oh Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” – I have been adopted into the family of that Loving Heavenly Father. Philippians 4 v 6-7 tells me that I have the privilege of being able to speak to Him, through prayer, about anything, and Joshua 1 v 5 tells me that He will never leave me or let me down, because He has promised not to.
But what Jesus means to me in my life is even more than that, because choosing to trust in this God means that we have the promise of eternity in heaven with Him, when we die. Life is no longer just a monotonous routine followed by death. Rather Jesus gives a purpose to my life that is far better than anything a pyramid selling company can offer me.
So as we pack up our house ready to move to Derbyshire in a few weeks, I can honestly say that I’m not scared. I’m sad to be leaving wonderful friends, and I’m nervous about the change. But I know that I don’t go alone. Jesus is with me. God has my future in His hands and I know that I can trust Him for whatever lies ahead.
No-one can offer me anything better than that.
