• since life is short, i will live it to the fullest and not have any regrets.
• i will cherish my loved ones and tell them how much i love them before its too late.
• life is about fulfilling my dreams. after that is done, i will eat, drink and be merry, and wait for the fun to end.

these are very popular opinions my friends have about life.. (well, these are the things they tell me when someone they know passes away..) sure, they're fine and dandy, but they're all made under the assumption that there is nothing left after one dies.

but how do you know?

"i don't know what.."

and that's where the problem often lies.. you do not know what lies ahead. but i'm telling you i do! and i'm just saying that there is life after death. even if you claim that i have no evidence to prove it whatsoever, wouldn't it be safer to just assume at the very least? there may or may not be... but what if?

when you wake up in the morning, what runs through your mind? project deadlines, work, a catching-up session with your friend today? or are you just thankful that you're alive, and want to thank someone that this day was made, and that you're able to be a part of it.. maybe we have all taken life for granted along the way.. and that's natural, because we don't know what its like to be dead. but i also know that it will do you no harm if you give it some serious thought.. about what it is you want to do with this fleeting life of yours.

i can tell you one thing, my friends. if you try to look into yourself for the answer to the meaning of your existence, you will not find it. heck, you've probably tried. the bullet points above were probably the best answers you could come up with. but those are just goals for this life aren't they? a goal and a meaning are two separate entities entirely.. you can reach all your goals but still miss the meaning of life.

what you and i need are more than self-help advice. (which we won't get enough of anyway. they're hardly good enough after a while.) they promise a life that is fulfilling, but not a life that is meaningful and purposeful.

after some self-exasperation, some of the answers of the meaning of life may turn into "only God knows." well, that's actually right. it may sound like you're simply giving up this futile search, but God is your last destination and will be. for those of you who believe that there is a God, may i also kindly tell you that He has not left us in the dark about what the meaning of life is. the Higher Being, who created man to roam the earth, made us out of His love, and wants the best for us. with His revelation, we now need to speculate no more. until we figure out that we were made by God, for God, life will never make sense.

God is not there for our own self-actualization. we were made for God, not the other way round, and it is all about letting Him use us for His purposes, not the other way round. i'm sure many people know that..... but few admit that it is true. nobody likes to admit that they were made for somebody, because it would mean a loss of control over your own life to a certain extent, and worse, to have to be accountable for every moral decision that you make. and humans, by nature, do not like to be accountable for their actions. but tough luck for us, for God has given us a set of laws we have to abide by. a world of anarchy is not going to be pretty, and God knew that.

however, man's sin has always been a big problem. its in our blood to sin.. we can't help it. we cannot get ourselves out of this mess no matter how hard we try. God, being so exasperated by the condition of the world, decided to put an end to this dilemma. out of His love for the world, He sent His Son to pay the ultimate price to purchase our sins. if we believe by faith that God's grace and underserved favour has redeemed us, we can be sure to live an abundant life as we walk by His side forevermore.

the meaning of life? is to love the Lord with all our hearts.. that we're being made alive again. from one man sin entered the world, but also from one man God cleansed those who believe in His gift of salvation. after we do that, we are to tell the world of this news that not everyone has heard of. when all these ends on earth, we go Home, to the Kingdom where streets are paved with gold, and meet our Creator face to face, and abide in Him for all eternity.

that, my friend, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. all i have given is a gist.. a scratch on the surface.. and i know i have left so many questions unanswered. this period of time has caused all of us to do much soul-searching, and if you still consider me as your friend after all these preaching, what i really want for you to do is to question me. ask me anything you want and i will try my best to clarify any misconceptions you may have about my faith. i cannot guarantee 100% satisfaction, but know that i treat this matter with utmost seriousness. for me, its not just a matter of life and death, but something of eternal consequences that cannot be undone once God decides to take us away from the face of the earth.

the worst you can do is to remain silent or pretend that you didn't see this entry.. and right now i hereby announce that i welcome you to confront me about this matter. there is no such thing as "this is too soon.", but know this: at any moment it may be too late.