Spiritual Advantage with Sam Stone

I am sure all of you have heard in the news that Apple launched the Apple Vision Pro, their first VR, AR, MR (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality) headset. I wonder how many of you have bought it. I think it’s overpriced, so I am staying with Meta Quest 3. I’ve been using Meta Quest since version 1 when it was called Oculus Quest.
If you wonder, “What’s the big deal about it? Isn’t it just another gaming device?” No longer! The big deal is these devices is ushering us into the future of the metaverse. Soon, you can transport or transfigure yourselves between the metaverse and the universe. For the first time, these headsets are produced as productivity tools and will replace your cell phones, computers, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and more.
In other words, soon, we will live, work, move, and have our being with these glasses. Most importantly, these devices can serve as an excellent metaphor for today’s subject: “Transfiguration.” If you don’t believe in transfiguration or resurrection or wonder what it is like, you will seriously consider it after this message.
For productivity, you can put on the headset and create a breathtakingly beautiful working environment. You can set up your office on the moon, at the North Pole, or under the Caribbean Sea, surrounded by tropical fish, giant sharks, and colorful sea creatures outside your office windows, above your glass ceiling, and under your glass floor. Can you imagine what it would be like to work in an office like that?
With Meta Quest 3, you get three resizable virtual monitors to work on, significantly boosting your productivity if you know how to use them.
If you like entertainment, you can watch movies on an immersive screen, like being in the iMax theater without the trouble of driving there and finding parking. If you like traveling, the National Geographic app lets you explore exotic places as if you are realistically on-site without spending thousands of dollars and an arduous journey to get to those places.
You can also play sports like golf, table tennis, bowling, basketball, you name it. You can even have fitness coaches without leaving your home. You can turn any space you have into a gym.
What’s significant now is it’s getting incredibly realistic. What you see in the metaverse can be much more beautiful than this universe. Some users say they don’t want to return to real life after being there. Others say they get confused between whether the virtual life is real or the real life is virtual. I agree with them. Sometimes, I prefer to live in the metaverse and feel reluctant to return to the universe.
Now, I have a serious question for you. Have you ever wondered if our present life here is virtual or real? What if it is virtual? Let’s say we come from the real world somewhere, and we are born into this virtual world as babies, live for about a hundred years, and return to the real world we came from.
If you could grasp that life is a phantom of reality, it would completely change how you live, how you relate with people, and how you handle the difficulties of life because everything is a phantom. All the grudges, grievances, and guilts on earth are vanity. As King Solomon said,
“Vanity of vanities … vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” (Ec 1:2).
This book is part of the wisdom literature. King Solomon wrote this when he was old. Wisdom is to capture someone’s lifetime lesson and build on it without reinventing the wheel. Instead of working until we are old to find out, why don’t we learn from the wisdom of the ages? If all is vanity, how would you live your life?
About 2,400 years ago, my favorite philosopher Zhuangzi woke up from a dream and told his students, “I just dreamed I was a butterfly. Realistically, I flew joyfully and peacefully among flowers and trees. When I woke up, I couldn’t tell whether I was a butterfly dreaming about being a human or a human dreaming about being a butterfly.”
With this story, Zhuangzi taught people that this life is unreal. He allegorized that we are butterflies dreaming of being humans. Our life on earth is just a dream. Our reality is in the spiritual realm. We can call it Pneumaverse—Pneuma means Spirit or Breath in Greek. Our physical life on earth is a phantom. It’s an illusion. Can you grasp it? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin famously said,
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
I have discussed this with many people, but most couldn’t imagine another reality outside this physical world. For them, it’s more like wishful thinking.
Do our bodies really exist? If you study a little quantum physics, you know our body is composed of waves, not matters. We know our bodies are composed of cells. Cells are composed of atoms. But when we open an atom, we find an empty space with waves of protons, neutrons, and electrons dancing in it. There’s nothing in there except these waves of energy. In short, we don’t exist!
We are sustained by breath or spirit. The moment our breath leaves us, we cool down and dry up.
Since this life is a phantom, all the anxieties, bickerings, grudges, strife, and wars are meaningless. All the complaints about “me, me, me, how about me” are pointless because “me” doesn’t exist. Like the wise King Solomon said, “All is vanity.”
When you realize all is vanity, resurrection or transfiguration becomes significantly conceivable because it gives us a glimpse of eternity, the kingdom of God, or the Pneumaverse. Long ago, Jesus gave Peter, James, and John a peek into that reality on Mount Tabor. The question is, can we also have a similar experience?
So, today, we will explore what reality is like through Jesus’ transfiguration event to better understand our life on earth as the phantom of reality so that we know how to handle life meaningfully and live a joyful, happy, carefree, and stress-free life until we return to eternity. Let’s begin.

Looking at a pile of correspondence and reports from around the world to review and respond, an emperor of ancient China felt overwhelmed and couldn’t concentrate on his work. He wanted something to calm his mind down to get his work done.
He consulted the prime minister for a solution. The minister suggested hanging a giant, beautiful, calming painting in his office to induce serenity. The emperor agreed, and the minister hunted for the best artists in the country. He selected three artists to paint a picture for the emperor.
After consulting the emperor about his desire, the artists began their work. When they finished, the minister asked them to bring their finished paintings to the emperor’s office to let him choose.
The first one was a beautiful spring scenery of a flower garden. The second one was a peaceful winter lake with a snow-capped mountain behind. They all represented serenity very well.
The third one was a giant waterfall. The minister suggested eliminating the third one because a waterfall didn’t look serene. But the emperor said, “Stop, I think that’s the best one. Look! See the small bird nest with a family of birds sleeping peacefully in it despite the roaring waterfall by them. That’s exactly what I want.” (End of the story.)
This allegory teaches us that serenity does not require you to live like a hermit in a quiet mountain or deep forest away from civilization. True serenity is like those little birds staying calm and peaceful despite the turbulence in the environment.
There are two types of turbulence in life—failure and success. The effect of failure is easy to understand. Nobody likes failure. It makes us feel depressed, discouraged, and distressed. However, most people don’t know that success also disrupts our serenity. It’s equally harmful. Success is like sugar that tastes sweet but destroys our organs from the inside.
Most people know they should avoid failure but don’t realize they must also beware of sabotage by success. Don’t get me wrong! I am not talking about not attempting to succeed in your enterprise, but I mean not dwelling on it—not letting it disturb your serenity.
Depending on your age, I’m sure you have seen more people destroyed by success than failure. It was not because success was bad but because they dwelled on it.
Humans are pretty resilient. We can recover from failure repeatedly if we don’t give up. But few can recover from the destruction of success because of its sweetness. They thought it was a good problem to have. Before they realize it, permanent damage is done.
Jesus showed us how to handle both failure and success and how to move on. In this week’s scripture lesson, we can learn how Jesus maintained his serenity and humility despite his fame and success. We will learn valuable lessons from it. Let’s begin!

A friend told me that there are three levels of authority. Generalist Authority, Specialist Authority, and Celebrity Authority. Using doctors as examples, a Generalist doctor has an average authority and charges what average doctors charge.
A Specialist could charge you much more because they have more authority, and people trust them more for their specialty.
A Celebrity doctor, however, commands a higher authority because they are popular and much sought after. Whatever they say, people tend to believe. For example, Dr. Phil is one of the celebrity doctors. Even though he is pretty big, everybody listens to him when he gives advice on weight loss. That’s the power of Celebrity Authority!
What type of authority do you have in your field? Your authority gives you leverage on the message you want to deliver. Everyone is born with a unique message to deliver, whether you are a parent or president. But not everyone has the same level of authority to make the most influence.
As a follower of Christ, you have a message to deliver, and I am sure you desire the highest possible authority. I have discovered how to attain maximum authority even if you are not a celebrity, specialist, or generalist.
Even if you are a nobody, you can still harness the highest authority to deliver your message. Let me begin with another provocative parable of Zhuangzi, my favorite philosopher of the 4th century BCE.
Zhuangzi was strolling in the woods near a chestnut orchard and suddenly saw a bird flying above him. Despite a seven-foot wingspan and a pair of big eyes, the bird seems unable to fly high and see well. It didn’t notice the man below.
Out of curiosity, Zhuangzi took out his slingshot to hunt the bird down. Then he discovered the bird was focusing on catching a mantis on a tree branch. Then he noticed the mantis was sneaking toward a singing cicada for lunch.
All of a sudden, Zhuangzi had a glimpse of awakening that upset him. He put away his slingshot and left the place quickly. Then he heard the gardener of the orchard yelling at him for trespassing. He ran home feeling miserable for several days.
His student asked, “Master, you looked unhappy for several days. What happened?” The sage told him about his experience in the orchard, describing a cicada focusing on showing off its singing voice, unaware that a mantis was about to eat it.
The mentis, on the other hand, was so fixated on its food that it failed to notice the bird behind him. Again, the bird was so fixated on its prey, unaware that a man was hunting it down. Then he felt a chill in his spine, feeling someone must be after him.
As he left, he heard the gardener yelling at him for trespassing. He realized when he was in someone’s orchard, he must follow the owner’s rules. (End of the story.)
What is Zhuangzi trying to teach here? In the context of this story, he wants us to realize that a higher authority is watching us from behind. As creatures, we fixate on the object before us and neglect the subject behind us. He had a profound realization that it kept him in deep thought for several days and transformed the way he live his life.
Zhuangzi was an esteemed sage and a celebrity authority of his time. Even the king came asking him to be the prime minister of the kingdom. Yet, his celebrity authority is nowhere near the authority of the gardener of the orchard he trespassed into.
Like an anion, this story could trigger multiple layers of enlightenment. The orchard is a metaphor for the world we live in. It belongs to the Creator of the universe, who is watching over us. All authority belongs to Him and his servants.

I want to begin with a provocative parable by the great philosopher Zhuangzi.
Once upon a time, a man named “Mr. Knowledge” traveled north to the territory of the sages to seek an epiphany of the Truth. He encountered a sage named “Mr. Actionless Wordless” and asked the following three questions:
“How do I think and ponder to know the Truth?Where do I dwell and strive to rest in the Truth?What path and plan do I follow to receive the Truth?”
何思何虑则知道,何处何服则安道,何从何道则得道?
However, Mr. Actionless Wordless did not answer his questions nor did he even know how to answer them.
Mr. Knowledge was disappointed and traveled south to the place called “End of Doubt.” He encountered a man named “Mr. Wild Blurter” and asked the same question. He replied, “Ah! I know, and let me tell you.” But while he was about to speak, he forgot what he wanted to say.
Mr. Knowledge was again disappointed and went to the Emperor to ask the question. That was a sage emperor, like King Solomon. He said,
“Think nothing and ponder nothing to know the Truth.Dwell nowhere and strive for nothing to rest in the Truth.Follow no path and pursue no plan to receive the Truth.”
無思無慮始知道，無處無服始安道，無從無道始得道。
In summary, “Do nothing!” Then the Emperor said, “Those who seek the Truth daily diminish their doing. Gradually, they achieve actionless action. Then, there is nothing not done.”
It means our actions are in the way of God’s actions. Our doing is in the way of God’s doing. God always reveals Himself, but our busyness prevents us from capturing God’s epiphany.
Simply put, the secret to epiphany is “Let go and let God daily.” It’s not a one-time practice. You need to let go and let God, let go and let God, let go and let God, day by day, until you have nothing more to let go, and your life is filled with God entirely.
It’s like John the Baptist’s motto,
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:30).
I am practicing this motto, but I still have much to decrease. Again, it’s not a one-time deal but a progressive practice. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I must gradually chip myself away to let him take over. It’s called sanctification—becoming a saint.
Notice it says, “I must decrease.” Many people want God to increase without being willing to decrease themselves. It just doesn’t work that way.
You cannot serve two masters—your ego and God—at the same time. You cannot sit two kings on one thrown. Either you or God must step down. I know it’s uncomfortable for those with an inflated ego. I was one of them, but I’ve learned that it can be done slowly and steadily. He must increase, but I must decrease.
Let go, and let God. Let go, and let God. Let go, and let God. Then, you will see the epiphany. More than that, you will see what God is doing. You’ll see everything done in God’s power, your God-sized dream realized, your divine purpose fulfilled, and miracles happen.
Epiphany comes from two Greek root words, “epi,” meaning “above,” and “phainein,” meaning “reveal.” It means a higher revelation, revelation from the above, or higher consciousness of God at work.
Mr. Knowledge asked three important questions that we can translate into our quest for the epiphany of God:
“How do I think and ponder to know God?Where do I dwell and strive to rest in God?What path and plan do I follow to receive God?”
Few people ask questions like these. Mr. Knowledge is wise to ask those questions. People say there’s no such thing as stupid questions. It’s true, but smart people do ask smarter questions. Jesus said, “Ask, and you will receive.” It’s important to ask. If you don’t ask, you can’t complain about not receiving it. The Apostle James said,
“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” (Jas 1:5).
The answers to the above three questions are:
“Think nothing and ponder nothing to know God.Dwell nowhere and strive for nothing to rest in God.Follow no path and pursue no plan to receive God.”
As John Calvin said, we are born with a sense of divinity and a seed of spirituality. It is our overthinking and overdoing that prevent us from epiphany.
Today, we will look at how Jesus’ disciples received the epiphany based on this week’s scripture lesson so that we can also receive the blessing of epiphany for ourselves to realize our divine dream with divine presence. Let’s begin!

The great philosopher Zhuangzi told a fascinating story about a debate with his friend Huizi, another famous scholar and philosopher of the 4th century B.C.E. The story is playful but profound. Let’s see if you can unwrap the deeper meaning of the debate.
Zhuangzi and Huizi were walking beside the weir on the River Hao. Zhuangzi said, “Look, the fish are coming to the surface and swimming carefreely. They look so happy!”
Huizi asked, “You are not a fish; how do you know the fish are happy?”
Zhuangzi replied, “You are not me; how do you know I don’t know the fish are happy?”
Huizi said, “Exactly! I am not you, so I don’t know what you think. In the same way, you are not a fish, so you don’t know what the fish are thinking.”
Zhuangzi said, “Ah, but let’s return to your original question. You asked me how I knew the fish were happy. That means you already knew I knew. I know it by being here on the weir of the River Hao.” (End of the story.)
Most people interpret this story shallowly as an entertaining display of Zhuangzi’s debating skills. But this story is not merely a witty wordplay of the sage. It provides a profound wisdom of human consciousness.
When Huizi asked, “You are not a fish, how do you know the fish are happy?” Zhuangzi answered, “You are not me, so how do you know I don’t know the fish are happy?” That means, “I know the fish are happy the way you know me as your friend.” But Huizi missed the point and thought it supported his argument.
So, Zhuangzi asked him to return to the original question for self-reflection to awaken his consciousness. Then Zhuagzi ended the argument by saying, “I know it by being here and now.” That means he knew the fish were happy by being in the moment.
Huizi was not in the moment because he was argumentative. An argumentative person is less reflective and unconscious. They focus on winning the debate rather than learning the truth. We know Pharisees loved to argue, so they missed seeing the Son of God standing before them. That’s why Jesus said they were blind.
Let’s bring it closer. Do you know when a dog is happy? You do if you love dogs and own dogs. I know when a dog is happy. I don’t think you would ask me, “You are not a dog; how do you know the dog is happy?”
Zhangzi’s debate goes deeper. He implied we are all part of one creation, so we can know if the fish are happy as well as we know our friends. It’s a matter of consciousness.
Another good example is John Donne’s famous poem, “No Man is an Island.” If your consciousness reaches the point of John Donne, you don’t have to ask, “For whom the bell tolls?” because “It tolls for you.” It’s about the consciousness of the oneness of humans.
Zhuangzi takes you to a higher level of consciousness—beyond humans to all creatures, “How do you know if the fish are happy?” The answer is, “You know it through consciousness because we are all part of God’s creation.”
I want to take us even to the highest level of consciousness to discern the Spirit. Not only are humans one, not only are all creatures one, there’s oneness between the creation and the Creator.
John Calvin said we are born with a sense of divinity and a seed of spirituality. Human consciousness is paralyzed because of total depravity. It must be awakened. Only with the awakened consciousness can we discover Jesus is God’s Son.
One of the most frequently asked questions is, “How can we know for sure Jesus is the Son of God?” Where is the undebatable evidence? Even Christians struggle with this question.
Some know, but they can’t explain it. Others regard it as a mystery. Still, others find the idea absurd and superstitious, so they avoid it entirely. It is critically important to know Jesus is the Son of God because it matters to how we live and function in this world. So, how do we know?
The most common answer is, “That Bible says so.” However, the Pharisees knew the Bible from cover to cover, but they failed to recognize Jesus as the Son of God. Many Bible scholars today still fail it. The words in the Bible taste dry without consciousness.
So, today, we will tackle this tough question, “Is Jesus really the son of God?” If so, how do we prove it? If it needs the higher consciousness, how do we awaken it? Let’s begin!

An elementary school teacher distributed sheets of plain paper and colored crayons to her class, asking the children to draw whatever they wanted. Knowing children are creative, she was curious about what they would draw.
She approached a little girl and asked, “What are you drawing?” “A picture of God,” she said. “Oh, no. You can’t draw a picture of God.” She asked, “Why?” “Because no one has ever seen God, and no one knows what God looks like.”
The little girl replied matter-of-factly, “Well, they WILL know what God looks like after I finish.” (End of story.)
At a glance, we think children are funny, naive, and ignorant. However, have you ever wondered if the other way around may be more accurate? Children may be much closer to God than adults are.
Some might think it’s because they have been taught about God, but evidence shows that even children born of atheist parents have some knowledge of God.
The child prodigy Akiane Kramarik is a good example. I know many of you have heard about her in the news.
If children don’t have the innate capacity to know God, they won’t understand even if you teach them about God. Sunday School teachers would be frustrated.
It seems we lose that spiritual acuity as we grow up. It reminds me of Thomas Hood’s famous poem, “I Remember, I Remember.” The last stanza speaks to me profoundly,
I remember, I remember,The fir trees dark and high;I used to think their slender topsWere close against the sky:It was a childish ignorance,But now ’tis little joyTo know I’m farther off from heav’nThan when I was a boy.
(Thomas Hood, I Remember, I Remember).
Maybe Thomas Hood is right; the older we grow, the further we are from heaven. We all want to grow up and become more mature, but in the process, we lose what matters most—our keenness to God.
The question is, can we rekindle that capacity to know God? What does it take to see God again? Jesus says,
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3).
He says you must “change” and “become.” Isn’t it ironic that after all these years on earth striving to become adults, Jesus wants us to turn around and become children?
The outcome is entering the kingdom of heaven, the place of ultimate joy and happiness. If becoming children is what it takes to enter the kingdom of heaven and see the face of God, I believe it’s worth it.
Today is the last day of 2023 and also the last Sunday of the year. Most of you may already have your New Year’s resolution. As for me, I resolve to become like children. Would you join me?
We don’t know what 2024 will bring. It’s a critical year. Do you know that 64 countries worldwide will have elections in 2024, including the United States, Taiwan, Russia, and the European Union? Half of the world population will head to the polls in 2024.
There’s a lot of uncertainty ahead of us, but there’s one certainty that we all know. As Paul said,
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro 8:31b).
2024 is uncharted water, and the world will be confused by the storms of news that constantly preach uncertainty. But nothing can confuse us if we walk closely with God, the Rock of Ages.
So, today, we will explore how wise people see God in times of chaos based on Jesus’ baby dedication ceremony and learn how to see the presence of God ourselves. Let’s begin!

Last week, I talked about how ultimate happiness comes from meaning. If you find meaning in life, you have happiness. The meaning of life comes from usefulness. So, when you make yourself useful, you find life meaningful, and you harvest the fruit of joy and happiness.
Some of us may be thinking, “I’m getting old and useless.” It’s not true. Usefulness can be both active and passive. If you are young and strong, you can be actively useful. If you are old and feeble, you can be passively useful—such as praying frequently for the church, family, community, and the world. The power of prayer is highly underrated.
So, don’t be discouraged by diminishing physical ability. There are many creative ways to serve.
A more important question is, who would you rather serve? It reminds me of a thought-provoking story told by Zhuangzi, the great philosopher.
Zhuangzi and his disciples traveled through a forested hill and passed by a huge tree. He was surprised to see the loggers ignore such a majestic tree. So, he asked a logger why they did not cut this beefy tree down and made a lot of money. They told him that the tree was useless. You couldn’t make anything out of it. No carpenter or builder would buy it.
Zhuangzi remarked to his students, “This is the value of uselessness. People only understand the value of usefulness but not the value of uselessness. See, just because it’s useless, this tree gets to live to the full extent of its life.” His disciples took note of that observation.
They stopped to visit a friend on the other side of the hill. As a lifelong admirer, the host family welcomed the sage warmly and enthusiastically asked them to stay for dinner. Immediately, the host asked the servant boy to kill a goose to treat the guests.
The boy asked, “Sir, which one should I kill—the one that honks or doesn’t.” (In case you don’t know, just like dogs, house geese can guard the property by honking when strangers or thieves approach. Like dogs, they even attack suspicious strangers.) The host said, “Kill the one that doesn’t honk.”
The smart students of Zhuangzi heard it and noticed it contradicted what their master had taught them on the way. The next day, the disciples challenged their master, “Master, you told us back on the hill that the tree gets to live long because it’s useless, but why then did the useless goose get killed?”
Zhuangzi said he didn’t say uselessness is always good. You need to know the situation. There are times you better be useless and times you better be useful. Then, he gave them a long lecture on knowing when, where, and how to be useful and useless and, most importantly, how to be useful for a higher purpose.
This story stimulates a self-searching on who you want to be useful to. Do you want to be a useful employee to be exploited by a cunning company—like a useful tree getting chopped off by the loggers? Or do you want to be a good steward, guarding a good owner’s property like the honking goose? Who do you want to serve?
When our son asked me what I thought about him joining the army years ago, I told him if you wanted to be a soldier, it would be a great honor to serve a country like the U.S.
On the contrary, you would rather be useless if you live in a totalitarian nation that goes to war for vanity, exploiting its soldiers. We have two major wars going on right now. If you were in any of those countries, would you rather be useful or useless?
We are born to be useful. When we are young, we seek to be useful to our parents, siblings, friends, and teachers. As we grow older, we seek to be useful to society by pursuing a meaningful career. As we grow more mature, we want to be useful for a greater purpose, such as to be useful to God and fulfill a divine dream, because that gives us the ultimate joy and happiness.
Confucious said people discover their divine purpose when they are 50. I think it’s sad that we have to live half of our lives before we discover our divine purpose.
But there are instances in the Bible where people discovered their calling when they were young. For example, Joseph in the Old Testament knew his divine dream since he was seventeen. Mary received her divine calling when she was only about fifteen. Jesus wants us to seek our divine purpose as our top priority. He said,
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mt 6:33).
Everything falls together when you do this one thing. If being useful to God gives you the greatest meaning and highest joy in life, how do we become useful to God?
Since it’s Advent season, we can explore this question by looking at Mary, who made herself available to God to carry “God in human form” to earth as a baby and accompany him all the way to the cross and become the greatest woman in human history. So, let’s begin!

One of my ulterior motives to leave home and travel across the world to America was to find the meaning of life. Growing up, I was not satisfied with life. Later, I discovered I was not alone. Every teenager and young adult has an innate desire to figure out the meaning of life. Everyone has a hero’s journey. Some people discover their destiny sooner, but others take a lifetime.
In his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Viktor Frankl discourages people from pursuing happiness, but if you pursue the meaning and purpose of life, you will find happiness. I would argue that if happiness is the ultimate outcome of meaning, then the pursuit of meaning is equivalent to the pursuit of happiness. However, knowing that the pursuit of meaning is the path to happiness is helpful.
What’s the meaning of life, then? Initially, the meaning of life comes from usefulness. The Burmese describe an unuseful person as someone who “consumes rice and cumbers earth.” ဆန်ကုန်မြေလေး (San Gong Myay Lay). It means a person who knows only about eating and pooping is useless to society. To be called a person who “consumes rice and cumbers earth” is probably the biggest insult in the Burmese language.  
We notice even children want to be useful. They want to help their parents, siblings, friends, and teachers. They feel proud each time they find themselves useful. As we grow up, we want to be more useful. Some want to become doctors because helping people to stay healthy is the most meaningful profession. Some become teachers to develop leaders for the future. Some want to be firefighters to save lives.
As we grow mature, our search for meaning becomes deeper. We begin to question our destiny. Why am I here on earth? Is there a divine purpose? Is there more to life than what we have achieved trying to achieve? Is there more to life than accumulating possessions, pleasure, power, and prestige? Jesus said,
“For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” (Mk 8:36).
That’s a good question. Are we climbing a ladder only when we get to the top to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall? Maybe we should lean the ladder against the right wall before it’s too late.
Dr. Edwin Friedman said the meaning of life comes from knowing what you want to die for. If you know what you want to die for, you know what to live for.
In fact, from the moment we are born, we are headed to the grave. As Benjamin Franklin said, there are only two certainties in life, “death and taxes.” Since we know we are dying for sure, why don’t we die meaningfully? That is our destiny. In fact, our destiny is predestined from the foundation of the earth.
John the Baptist is one of those who is clear about his destiny and is willing to risk his life to fulfill it. Jesus’ disciples also discovered their destiny and gave their lives for it.
So, today, we will explore the meaning of life by studying the life and mission of John the Baptist. Let’s begin!