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“Such is Life”
Where am I heading?
“Such is life” A popular phrase meaning: an acceptance of the unpredictable fortunes of existence often spoken with an air of weary resignation.
The early uses of this phrase date from the mid 18th, century: For example, Joseph Barretti’s “A grammar of the Italian language”. (1762) translates “Cosi va’l mondo” as “such is life” and continues; “such is life, that whatever is proposed, it is much easier to find reasons for rejecting than embracing” (www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/such-is-life.html)
Most of us would agree that this is a universal truth. Most things that happen in life tend to be things we don’t want, but they happen anyway and therefore we must accept them.
For example a historical figure of Australia, the well known Ned Kelly was advised of the time he would be hanged, his reply was “such is life”, and when they were placing the rope around his neck his last words were “Ah, well, I guess it has come down to this”. This was a man weary of running, fighting and basically disappointed with what his life had amounted to. I’m sure it was never his plan to end his life in such a way.
So many of us have been thrown changes and situations in life that we struggle to come to grips with, but we are forced to accept. For example, there are so many children growing up in broken families today. In Australia alone between 2009-2010 there were one million children living in the middle of a divorce. Now this is something no child wants but is forced to come to terms with.
This is one example of the myriad of situations and life struggles that children have to face today, and as time goes on it seems like more people are simply accepting this brokenness as something normal. Many accept the fact that they will never be happy, feel fulfilled, sense real love or feel entirely secure. “We must simply accept what comes our way”. Have you ever felt like this?
Well I too like many grew up surrounded by uncertainty and overwhelmed with confusion, pressed to accept things as they were, unable to change anything or able to get answers I almost accepted everything to the point where I wanted to give up.
But at the age of 19, I met a person who didn’t have all the answers but directed me to the One who did “God”. He also directed me to a book that helped me a great deal “The Bible”. I would like to share some of the most important words that helped change my life, words that opened my eyes, gave me purpose and a way toward change, not mere acceptance.
Sin
The real issue as the Bible calls it is “Sin”, which in definition means: falling short of God’s standards. In the beginning, God made human beings in His image. They enjoyed a harmonious relationship with Him, and with each other. But all this changed when sin entered the picture.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23)
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. (Gen 2:8-9)
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (Gen 1:27)
As mankind sinned by disobeying their Creator and chose to act in pride, by obeying the lies of Satan (the enemy of God) rather than the truth of God. Mankind brought upon itself the consequence of sin, trading God’s blessing for a curse, a good life for a painful life, an exalted and desirable position for slavery to sin. In the end they traded life for death, destined their bodies for the grave and their souls to a place called Hell, eternally separated from God and in desperate need of a saviour.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23)
Mankind’s heart was hijacked by evil and as a result they drew further away from God.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6:5)
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
(Rom 1:21)
For your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. (Is 59:2)
Can you afford to have a “such is life” attitude towards your problem of sin which has you destined to hell?
A simple answer for a difficult problem
So we see that through our disobedience and rebellion toward God, we have separated ourselves from Him, and since we have turned away from Him, we have chosen our own ways. It’s our ways that have us in this predicament, caught in a cycle of sin and self-destruction.
But God offers an answer to our problem. In the Gospel of Luke, we find these words from Jesus, as His command for those who would take His message to the world.
Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations. (Lk 24:46-47)
It is God’s desire to reconcile people to Himself through Christ (2 Cor 5:18,19). Offering forgiveness to those who repent and believe in His Son as their saviour. All those who repent and believe in Christ have been born again; this spoken of in the Gospel of John chapter three, and also in the OT prophets such as Ezekiel, who prophesied that God would give us a new spirit, replace our heart of stone with a heart of flesh and would put His Spirit within us.
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3:3)
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you. (Ezek 36:26-27)
Why does God ask us to repent if He loves us so much? The word repent simply means to turn around or return. So when we repent we acknowledge that we are heading in the wrong direction and need to return to God, whilst letting go of our sinful passions, this is truly a humbling but refreshing experience, as we are relieved from the burden of guilt and shame.
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. (Acts 3:19-20)
Take a step of faith
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Jn 7:38)
So what do you think? Will you see an end to your life with words like “such is life”, or will you take a step of faith toward the refreshing forgiveness and restoration that God offers to all who believe in His Son? There may be many problems in your life that you need to confront but don’t lose sight of the real issue, Sin.
If you resign yourself to continuing in your sin, it will overpower you and when you die, God will punish your wretched and miserable soul by pouring out his wrath on you forever. But Christ offers you the one and only way to turn back to God, and if you trust in Him alone. He will save you completely from God’s wrath, no matter what you have done.
Dear friend will you repent today asking God to forgive you of your sin and ask His Son Jesus into your heart as Lord and Saviour?
If you have asked Jesus into your heart today, I encourage you to attend a bible believing church, continue to nurture your new relationship with God through regular study of the bible and prayer. |
