Growing up in East Malaysia, on Borneo island, I often wondered about the future. What could I expect from my life? What lay ahead for me?
I pondered the pattern that I could predictably follow. I would grow up. I would go to church. I would go to school. Eventually, I would go through high school, get my diploma and graduate. I might go on to university or other higher education. Then I might get married and have a family. And then I would die.
Life seemed pretty short that way. There might be different landmarks along the way, but looking at what could be considered a "normal life" I had to ask: "Is that all there is?"
I was very disappointed. I knew there had to be some higher purpose-some reason that Betty Lau existed in this world. I partied a lot, but in a good way-I just wanted to have fun and enjoy what my life appeared to be. I had no real sense of commitment.
But even my home began to seem too small for me. As much as I knew that there had to be more to my life than what I was living, I knew there had to be more to my world than just Malaysia. I was looking for answers. I was seeking direction.
One night, a friend of mine invited me to a concert. I love music, so I said, "Sure. Why not?" As the music played, I noticed a man standing in the crowd. He had his hand above his head and he was holding a book. "I know the plan for your life," he declared confidently.
This certainly got my attention, but I was a little miffed. How did he know the plan for my life-for anybody's life?
"I know God's plan for your life!"
God's plan? For my life? I had to have that book!
I approached him after the concert and asked: "The book that you had in your hand-can I buy it?"
"What book?" he responded.
"The book that you had-that you said had the plan for my life!"
"Oh," he replied. "You mean the Bible."
The Bible? I stared at him. But I already had the Bible. I had grown up in a Christian home-a nice church and all the nice Christian activities. Yet in the face of my many Muslim friends and Buddhist relatives, I had come to believe that all religions led to God. I knew that there was someone out there far bigger than myself, but beyond that I had no meaning in my life.
I thought that this man was offering the blueprint I had been looking for, but it was a book I already knew. Or did I?
"I already have the Bible," I said.
"Have you ever read it?" he asked me. That was a challenge I could not ignore. I had gone to Sunday School and read the Bible "here and there", but did I really BELIEVE it?
"Do you know what you will happen to you when you die?" he asked.
"No," I replied. "No one can know." I was fairly sceptical. I grew up in a religious home, but all my friends were religious too. I didn't believe in absolutes.
"The Bible says that you can. Do you think that God would lie to you?"
"No," I said. "But you might."
Patiently, he showed me the verses in the Bible that explained that Jesus Christ had died to give me ETERNAL life. I could know with certainty what would happen to me not only in this life, but after my death. Jesus-the one and only way to God-had already paid for my sins.
Jesus died for me. The life that I looked ahead to with such apathy was so important to Him that He gave His life for me. He chose me.
I gave my life to Christ that night. I knew that I had found the destiny that I had been seeking. I know now that I'm more than just an insignificant speck among so many. Christ gives my life purpose and meaning-my relationship with Him provides the significance that I once believed could not exist.
Are you searching for your destiny - for the plan for your life? Do you wonder if you will ever find fulfillment? You can find fulfilment and peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. (Betty Lau works with student leaders on university campuses in British Columbia, Canada, http://www.iamnext.com/me/betty)
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