I have actually heard people claim that they needed to go off someplace or do this or that to “find themselves.” Such people are deluded of Satan and try to find meaning in life without God. It is typical today for people in our society to try to find happiness and meaning apart from God. Why? They no longer believe that God even exists. Out of their ignorance, they think that all the extreme complexity of life, such as thinking, feeling, and animal instincts somehow just happened by chance accident. What shallow and foolish thinking! What lack of sense!

No one needs to find himself. He needs to find God by trusting his soul to Jesus Christ. Each person needs to realize that he was created and not evolved. Man was created to bring God glory and fellowship. Until a person realizes this, he will never find real happiness in life. His happiness will depend upon favorable circumstances in his life. When things go wrong, then his happiness will end.

By contrast, a Christian has the “joy of salvation,” along with the hope and assurance of Heaven. All who wish to find themselves are missing the most important truth in life. John tells us, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12). John continues to tell us truth by saying, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In other words, our Creator knew that man was unable to ever deserve to be called “children of God” and qualify for Heaven.

Therefore our God became a man, Jesus of Nazareth, who never sinned and thus qualified to save all who would believe in Him and trust their souls to Him. That is the only way a person can ever “find himself.” He must first find God through the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. Then he will know himself and realize that the only finding of self is by finding God the Creator.

However, John also warns us, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 7). Satan is the master deceiver and has a great multitude of demons carrying out his vile deeds. We cannot see these creatures, but they exist. and they continually do battle with God’s angels, some of whom are here to protect and defend us, the Christians.

Ever since Satan was ejected from Heaven because of his pride, he has done everything possible to destroy and disrupt God’s people and God’s work on earth. Satan engenders hatred, contentions, fights, and even wars among nations. But his greatest achievement has been to create doubt and disbelief in mankind. He has succeeded so well at this that the majority of people in the whole world no longer believe in the one true God. By not believing in God, one has no constraints or fear of retribution. That is why we see so much evil and greed in the world.

The sad truth is that most people will never see Heaven. But until earthly death, each one has the choice of believing in and trusting Christ to qualify as children of God. The caveat is that death on earth ends all opportunity to qualify for heaven. Sadly, no one living knows exactly when he will die, even young people.