This section should take from 3 to 5 minutes and the full page should take 6 to 8 minutes when played without stopping. New Topic: More About the Great I Am. I only lightly touched on this concept before, so I’m addressing it deeper here. I love this topic. Much has been written about the name ''I Am'', by which God identified Himself when Moses saw the burning bush. Hebrew language scholars translate YHWH as ''I Am that I Am''. A synonym for ''Am'' is ''exist''. To some extent, God was saying, ''I exist'', which could be taken to mean, ''In contrast to all the false gods worshipped by people on earth, I am the living, existing God''. I sometimes wonder if the second part, ''that I exist '' is a way of saying, ''for the chief purpose of existing.'' I also consider it might be a circular statement implying that God has always existed, will always exist, and is preeminent, surpassing all others in every aspect and quality of existence. In most of the Old Testament the name ''I Am'' is translated ''the LORD''. This is because YHWH was thought by Hebrew translators to be too holy a name to pronounce by human lips in its original form. We can start to see who this ''I Am'' is from what happens after the burning bush event. God joined His people in the desert in a miraculous way. ''The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light.'' We can tell by the lengths to which God went to rescue His followers from slavery in Egypt, care for them throughout the desert years, protect them from the armies of other nations, and lead them into the promised land. Of course, that burning bush encounter was just the beginning of His progressive revelation leading to showing Himself as the incredibly loving and saving ''I Am'' of the New Testament, and the eternal I Am in His coming Kingdom. The name ''I Am'' and its meaning is reserved for only one being, the Supreme Being, the Almighty. In referring to Himself, Jesus said ''Before Abraham was born, I Am''. In this and other passages, He asserted His identity as the One, who from the burning bush told Moses to go to Pharaoh, and ''Tell him that I Am has sent you.'' Say to him, ''Set my people free.'' The Egyptian Pharaohs claimed to be God and they demanded to be worshipped. You might consider that one of the meanings of ''I Am'' when God directed Moses to tell Pharaoh ''I Am sent me'', could have been, the Lord's name is ''I'm God and You're Not.'' Jesus took the name ''I am'' when He spoke things like, ''I am the good Shepherd'', ''I am the light of the world'', ''I am the bread of life'', and ''I am the way, the truth and the life.'' John wrote about ''I Am'' in the third person, when he wrote ''God is Love'' and ''God is light and in Him is no darkness at all''. I used to think of YHWH as meaning ''I Am. And That is the End of the Discussion!'' I think one modern scholar was closer when he declared that in the English language the closest phrase to the original meaning of ''I Am'' is ''I Am here for you.'' New Topic: What is the Meaning of Life. This topic should take about 3 to 5 minutes when played without stopping, depending on the speed of the screen reader. Answer. If you research this question, either on the internet or in libraries, you will find a significant number of attempts to analyze the question, and even more to try and answer it. I’m writing rather informally here, but I’m going to try my hand at answering this question without repeating the many ideas already out there. The reason the question is so elusive to most people is that they erroneously think of themselves at the center of life, and all their feelings, thoughts, experiences, dreams, and hopes are at the heart of the question about the meaning of life. All those things are good, but most people are going about this all wrong. None of us should put ourself in the center and think about our life as the thing we want to find the meaning for. Life exists outside us much more than it does inside us. If we want to find the real meaning of life, consider this: What is the meaning of life to the One who created it? All the real answers will stream from that. I might think something different tomorrow, but today I think that the meaning of human life is to give joy to God. There are probably other things, but I think that answer eclipses all others. If it concerns you that I might be skirting the issue of the meaning of YOUR life, please be patient. We’ll get to that shortly. If any of you readers have children and love them, you might understand a little of the concept of finding joy and meaning in loving your offspring. When my kids were little, when I could simply sit and watch them I didn’t need TV, movies, music, sports, or any other past time. They gave me such a kick, just by looking at them doing all the things they did. They were so sweet and cute, I just drank it in, and felt joy to be around them. (I’ll tell you a secret. My kids are in their twenties now, and I often still get the same feeling when I look at them.) If you don’t have kids, think about people in your life that have given you joy without them even knowing it. Take that kind of feeling and multiply it in your mind to the point where it is joy of great maginitude, and you might be able to understand that as God's children, WE are the meaning of life! In the eyes of our Heavenly Father love abounds beyond our ability to comprehend. Since our life provides joy and meaning to Him, we mean something. Life means something. I am not saying God would feel empty and meaningless without us. That would be absurd. But I am saying He is overjoyed with us and has a purpose for this planet that includes us. We help fulfill His worthwhile purpose, which gives our lives purpose. God loves life. If He didn’t, then why did He make so much of it? Over five billion species have existed on earth. These are examples of life that began with God. All life has meaning to Him. But I’ll tell you what kind of life has the most meaning to Him. We get a hint in the scripture where Jesus said, “Or if there is a woman who has ten silver coins, and loses one, won’t she light a lamp and sweep and search the house until she finds it? And when she does, she will call her friends and neighbors together. ‘Come and celebrate with me’, she will say, ‘for I have found that precious coin I lost.’ I tell you, it is the same in Heaven—there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who turns to God.” Not only does it give God and the angels intense joy when one person is saved, but that heavenly joy echoes back from Heaven on to the person who chose to receive the gift of salvation. And it doesn’t end there. The Holy Spirit brings to the person love, joy, peace, and other blessings as lifetime benefits of knowing and communing with Him. The Bible calls these the fruit of the Spirit. Contemplate that for a while. We bring meaning to God, for Him to enjoy. God brings meaning back into our lives for us to enjoy. This brings us back now to answer the person looking for the meaning of life with self at the center. Understand this cycle, the meaning of life comes to you and you understand it when you step into the circle of love in relationship with Jesus. The circle continues into the future. The two of you are in the center together. Joy, meaning, and significance together increase in you personally. Website Theme: All You Need to Do To Be Saved is Believe in Jesus Christ as Your Savior. He Has Already Done the Work to Earn Your Entry into Heaven. To continue to the next Topic, What is the Meaning of Life, please click the link below.