The Pursuit of Meaning: God’s Design for Life on Earth as He Fulfills His Plan of Restoration for Eternity

By Benicia Masangu

The book is a simplified and structured way of understanding the reason for the complex journey of life on earth as God sees it, and the presentation of the path that leads to meaning and redemption.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664270008

Benicia Masangu

Benicia Masangu was born in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is the founder and primary blogger at graceandfaithcafe.com. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston/Downtown in Texas, and an MSc in Strategy from Aston University in Birmingham, England.

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Copyright © 2022 Benicia Masangu.

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WestBow Press

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and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English

Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry

of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7001-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6999-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7000-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022911561

WestBow Press rev. date:  07/12/2022

For my family. Your prayers, encouragements,

affection, and support are highly appreciated

and gratefully and kindly received.

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Boarding and Takeoff

Chapter 1   Meaning Through Identity

Chapter 2   Meaning Through Separation

Chapter 3   The Meaning of Life

PREFACE

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,

the world and those who dwell therein.

—Psalm 24:1 (ESV)

This book is the first part of a three-part series about the pursuit of meaning on earth as children of God.

The book digs deep into the journey of life on earth: the point of creation in Genesis, the fall of humanity as a result of sin, and the understanding of meaning as we await the restoration to eternal life. We have an eternal promise and a future hope of completeness toward which we are looking. We have a race to run here as we make ourselves ready for that day. The journey is, indeed, complex. However, the scriptures are given to us so that we can know God’s purpose for us here on the earth as we prepare for the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life.

Therefore, to discuss the journey of life here on earth, I have designed the book by drawing from many resources, including my own journey of faith with God and how He brought me to the understanding of life. In chapter 1, for instance, I draw a lot of ideas from nature to explain the reason for salvation and the promise of eternity. From the natural, which is of God Himself, I explain the supernatural in order to shine a light on what God is doing in our lives. Moreover, I draw many other ideas from the people I have observed in churches, universities, countries I have lived in, and family and friends.

It is, thus, highly important that I clearly address the fact that I am not a theologian, scientist, biblical scholar, minister, or physicist. I bring this up because the book’s main purpose is to lead us to the truth that Jesus is all—and we are here because of and for Him. To do so, I have to use a persuasive technique as evidence for my claims. Without a background in theology, philosophy, or science, I cannot provide any research that I have personally conducted. Nonetheless, what I have is the knowledge and the wisdom of having walked with God in a complicated journey of seeking answers. My journey of faith in Jesus and the wisdom in the Spirit give me the qualifications to talk about Him in a rather simple manner. My quest for answers led me on a journey of asking many questions about the existence of God, the presence of pain and suffering, salvation, and who Jesus is. God took me on a long journey of growth and understanding, which has led me to produce this book.

My intention is to communicate to you that God has a plan for us on earth. As we are reading this, His plan is unfolding to make everything very good again. God wants to save you, redeem you, and lead you to a destiny that is eternal. By the end of this book, my hope is that you will find true meaning and that you will live your life with courage, joy, and hope, looking to the direction of eternity in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

My prayer is that God will lead you to know Him better and to know that He has a plan for you. My prayer is that this book will be a blessing to you, your family, and the church.

INTRODUCTION

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with

God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning

with God. All things were made through Him, and without

Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was

life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in

the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

—John 1:1–5 (ESV)

I was on my bed, looking straight at the ceiling, and I thought, What is life? Who is God? I was about twenty-two years old, and I was starting to become very inquisitive about the matters of life and God. I wanted to understand what life meant and why I was part of it. I also wanted to understand God, know Him, and ask Him all the questions that surfaced in my head every time I wanted to make sense of things. Two things in particular captured my attention: the meaning of life from God’s perspective and how to find meaning during life on earth.

When I was much younger, I had been interested in knowing why I was here and how I should live my life in the most real way possible. This came about as I was starting to notice the differences in people and the differences in their priorities in life and what was meaningful to them. As an introvert, I loved observing every single thing that happened around me, analyzing them, and making sense of them. I would observe my parents, my siblings, my friends and their relatives, people on television, people on the streets, and people at school and church, and I would study who they were and what they did. I realized that people followed certain patterns in their lives, and they tended to find meaning differently in life. They followed the same pattern of being born, going to school, church, and work, getting married or being in romantic relationships, forming communities, and having kids. In the end, everything about that beautiful journey will end with death. I was fascinated by these patterns, and I asked myself whether it was intentionally set to be this way or if there were any other ways of living. Why were people so different? Why did some believe and trust God while others didn’t? Why did death have to be in the picture?

As for finding meaning, I realized that some people were happy, and others were not. Some people lived intentionally, and others followed the flow of life. Some people relied on God for everything, and others relied on work, family, friends, or wealth. Some people lived carefree lives, and others cared about their images, reputations, and the opinions of people around them. I knew, then that it was the norm: I am here to follow the same patterns of life, and I should find meaning in at least something. I felt anxious right away. Where do I start? Do I get a manual about how to live my life in the best way? Who am I? Why am I part of this?

If there is meaning to being here, then I was determined to find that out. It wasn’t until a few years later that I actually started to understand the journey of life as I became observant of my own life and of those around me. God took me on a long, fruitful journey, and along the way, He taught me what He wanted me to know about who we are and why we are here.

Throughout the experiences in my own journey—and the constant observation of how life was happening around me—I was writing down everything that God was teaching me. However, I cannot take us on that journey of finding meaning if I don’t start with my own journey with God. He was the door and the key to understanding life, and He was the light for finding meaning throughout the journey.

I was born into a Christian family, and God was at the center of everything in our household. I grew up with all the Christian beliefs and values, and we never questioned anything. It was not that we weren’t permitted to question anything, but no one bothered to explain why we believed and valued certain things.

During my journey, I often found myself asking questions I didn’t have the answers to, and I was unsatisfied with the few answers I got. I really wanted to know if God was real. In my culture, we tell stories, which we call African traditions, but most of them were just legends and myths. No one actually knew about their authenticity or accuracy. God was taught to me by my parents and my church, but I always wondered if He was also one of the myths or one of those things that no one had an answer for. I wanted an answer.

I wanted to know that God was not part of the myths and legends. I wanted to know that He was real. I decided to really get to know Him personally. I would talk to Him from my bed, hoping that He would answer me and tell me that He was real.

Reading the Bible and other books based on characters of the Bible, I realized that God made promises to people and formed alliances with them. I was fascinated by and admired the personal relationships between God and His servants. I thought, Maybe I can form a relationship with Him, and then He will come to me in a real way, which is what the Bible teaches about Him.

I got down on my knees, put my hands together in a praying position, bowed my head as a sign of respect and humility, and said, God, I learned that You make promises that You keep and form alliances with men. I learned that You talk to them and teach them about the ways of life and the meaning of it. Today, I want You to have one with me and teach me about the life You created. I promise to serve and love You for my entire life on earth, live by Your commandments, and not break this alliance by the grace and faith I have received in Jesus Christ, my Lord. This is my promise to you. What is Yours? I have read about You, and now I want to know and hear You. That’s all. Amen.

Oh, you are waiting to hear what He said back to me? Actually, I never heard a reply. Instead, I had trust in my heart that He listened to me and was going to talk to me about life. I was excited about it. That’s how my journey of love with God began, and little did I know, with every experience and every person He placed on my path, He was actually talking to me about life.

I came to understand that there were two parts to life for those of us who choose the way of God. There is one journey, but there are two parts: earth and heaven. There is one journey, but there are two births and two deaths: biological birth and death, birth in Jesus, and death to sin. There is one journey, and there are two important things: identity and purpose. One journey leads to one destiny, which fulfills the two parts: earth and heaven. There is one journey and one story. There is one journey and one God. There is one journey and one Savior. There is one journey and one meaning.

I came to understand the importance of faith, grace, happiness, and growth. However, we can’t talk about life without looking at pain, suffering, obstacles, and chaos. I never understood why some people were fortunate and others were not. Why did some people find happiness and others did not? Why did some people have terrible things happen to them while others were lucky enough to be spared of terrible things. Why were some people poor and others were rich? Does God see it and turn away? Does He allow these things to happen? I questioned so many things about life, and I wondered over and over again, What is the meaning of this?

I knew that life on earth was so much different than the one promised in the Bible: heaven. I will also be referencing the New Earth when speaking of heaven in this book. I thought, Perhaps that is what we should look forward to. Nonetheless, it didn’t change the fact that I found life fascinating, and writing about it every time I was in my room was liberating. Life is such a beautiful thing. It is also mysterious and complex. No matter how many answers one finds, it is still foolish to say that one has found it all. All the answers are never found, but the journey matters more than knowing it all. That journey starts with identity.

At some point in our lives, we have all wondered who we are. We hear about knowing ourselves quite a lot. It is said that knowing who you are is the path to living a fulfilled life and being happy. I agree with this to some extent. The world is so big, and there are billions of us right here at this moment; all that we have in common is life. Even though we all share life and earth as our home, we are all individuals with distinct identities. We share one common identity from the start of our existence, which we will discuss deeper as we start this journey of discovery.

I never knew how important identity was for living a meaningful life. This is because identity helps us understand where we came from, where and who we are now, and where we are going. It gives us a sense of belonging to someone or something. Therefore, even in the globe that contains billions of us, we know and understand who belong to, and that sense of belonging to Him gives us light about what matters most within the globe where the journey is happening.

Before we dig deeper, it is important to understand that life is a gift from God. Indeed, we are here to fulfill His will, and we are part of the demonstration of His glory. Nevertheless, He gives us the privilege of witnessing that glory and beauty by gifting us with life. Moreover, He gives us the ability to love, laugh, be happy, grow, have wisdom, and enjoy this journey on earth. Therefore, life shouldn’t be a misery; it should be a celebration of His glory, might, and love.

We will go step-by-step and progressively into this journey of discovering who we are and why we are here. We will start with the discovery of our earthly journey, in which we will find the glory of the Creator of the universe and learn the unique purpose for which He has placed us here. As people who were created in the image of God, our God is rich in knowledge, wisdom, love, kindness, compassion, joy, and beauty. He wants us to find joy in the gift of life—even as we are walking toward eternity and the fullness of joy. As long as we are seeking to understand life and the journey to Jesus—in whom there is no dependence on self—and to better understand His will and His idea of a meaningful life, we are on the right path.

Life is a mysterious and beautiful thing, and we are all here to experience it. Life on the present earth may seem painful, but it is only a temporary journey of the undoing of the old to lead us to the new. It is the building of the new creation to which we have all been invited. That is why on this present earth, though we encounter lots of pain and suffering, we still remember that the journey has a far greater purpose, which is beyond the meanings we often assign to it.

Each day, we live to survive the earthly systems that structure our lives, but we forget to experience God’s great creation, which is life. Once I understood this, I started asking questions about myself, my purpose, and my identity. Do I have a destiny? Why do I think the way I do? Why do I behave the way I do? Why do I perceive the way I do? Why am I the way I am? Is it because I have something to explore? Is it because something is guiding me into thinking that way? If so, I want answers.

I came to understand that we are all pursuing something. But what is that thing? Is it happiness? Is it freedom? Is it destiny? Is it uncovering the truth of God so that we can make sense of who we are? What are we ultimately pursuing? Is it meaning? Because, deliberately or not, every day that you wake up, you make choices and decisions with the intent of pursuing something, and that thing is your string of worth and value. Is that string strong enough to sustain you through your entire journey on earth? We will, of course, answer these questions as we progress from chapter to chapter. In the end, we want to know what God thinks of identity, purpose, destiny, growth, and meaning, among many other things.

That journey starts now.

Follow along as we walk from door to door: from our origins to separating from sins, finding ourselves in Jesus, living our truth, finding joy in living our truth, finding our purpose or calling, finding faith during hardships, growing to become the person God created us to be, trusting that God is leading us in the right direction, getting to know the meaning of life on earth and heaven, understanding Jesus Christ—who is the Way to our eternal destiny—and finding meaning throughout the journey of life.

So, brace yourself for the goodness of our Creator, which will be revealed, and immerse yourself in the beauty of the life that He created.

Life is full of questions. Only fools are full of answers.

—African proverb

As mysterious as life seems, we won’t always have all the answers. Like the moon, part of it will always be hidden. However, God has given us a few things to work with, including faith, grace, discernment, conscience, intelligence, wisdom, thoughts, emotional capacity, judgment, instinct, and intuition, through which we form meaning. Above everything, He’s given us His Word, in which there is all the wisdom and knowledge He’s allowed for us to have, and that is where we look for answers.

BOARDING AND TAKEOFF

Life is a journey that is full of experiences. One of the most wonderful experiences is discovering your identity. It is only through the knowledge of your identity that you can really live a rounded life that is true to your path, purpose, and destiny. Your identity helps you understand your purpose, calling, destiny, and journey here on earth for heaven.

Welcome to the train of life!

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CHAPTER 1

Meaning Through Identity

A Journey of Discovery from Creation to

Birth, Death, Rebirth, and Eternal Life

By wisdom a house is built, and by

understanding it is established.

—Proverbs 24:3

So God created man in His own image, in the image of

God He created him; male and female He created them.

—Genesis 1:27

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,

He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that

through death He might destroy the one who has the

power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who

through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.