As a small child I was given a burgundy book of Bible stories by my grandmother. At the time I couldn't read, but the pictures set my imagination into action and confronted me with questions.

Looking intently at my book I saw three men hung on crosses. One stood out from the rest, because in His pain and suffering, He looked like His death had a purpose.

I asked my grandmother who this person was and she responded, Jesus the Savior of the world. Immediately I asked, "why would they hang Jesus on the cross?" My grandmother said it was God's will that He die for the sin of all people. I would stare at the Lord's picture and wonder how this could be God's will.

Turning the page, a cave with a stone rolled away suddenly appeared, changing my feelings of sadness for this man into joy. The man stood among angels, dressed all in white, looking thoughtful and smiling as if He held a secret that I wanted to understand.

I could not have been more than three when I looked at this book for the first time, yet in my heart I believed that Jesus was my Savior. I felt a deep connection as if I had known this man before I was ever born.

As a child I found God in my world through my family, church and books. I sought Him as I grew and developed in the trials of the world. But today many people have lost touch with their connection to the spiritual part of our world.

People are living life with no God at all. They feel empty as if they are lost and unable to find the meaning to their existence.

To not have God in your life is to lose your purpose. It is to cut off the intuition of your thinking and just see the grass and the trees. It's walking through this world and only seeing people without really knowing them.

When you don't read your Bible and when you don't seek the meaning to your life then you just exist. You have no understanding and you gain nothing when bad or good things happen to you and so you feel empty and abandoned.

This is the reason why you need to understand that this world is more than what you see. It is a huge, unseen spiritual game of life that takes a player through life situations for their development.

God gave us life so we would be raised up by the things we learn in this world. He is our Father and creator of the great game of life. A life game that requires us to find Him and remain in Him so we can win.

As we play our game we change and become mature people. This is the reason that we must expand our Biblical teaching through more than going to church. We must have a real relationship with our Father. We must pray! We must cling to every aspect of our spiritual purpose so we can achieve the spiritual goals that have been appointed to our life.

Proverbs 8:1-5, "Listen! Wisdom is calling out. Reason is making herself heard. On the hilltops near the road and at the crossroads she stands. At the entrance to the city, beside the gates, she calls: 'I appeal to you, mankind; I call to everyone on earth. Are you immature? Learn to be Mature. Are you foolish? Learn to have sense.'"

When I was a child my belief in God expanded my world by the thoughts the pictures provoked within me. Now that I am older I understand my need to be dependent to the man in the picture. God showed me through the world, through spiritual writings and through life experiences, wisdom.

Solomon was the wisest king in the history of Israel. He prayed that God would give him knowledge so he could rule his kingdom with wisdom. God granted this gift to him and he wrote down what God personally taught him in Proverbs.

Proverbs 8:11-14, "I am Wisdom, I am better than jewels; nothing you want can compare with me. I am Wisdom, and I have insight; I have knowledge and sound judgment. To honor the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil ways and false words. I make plans and carry them out. I have understanding, and I am strong."

God takes our lives and molds them through our desire to walk with Him and know His ways. God wants us to be kind people that radiate His love in a world of evil and hateful people.

In the very beginning of time, God explained to Cain that he had to master sin. Cain refused to listen to God and he killed his brother Abel. His choices made him the father of all those who do evil. He also became an example of what happens to a person when they leave God out of their lives.

Because we are in a life game, we are constantly tested. Tests that pull us into life situations that can lead us down paths away from God. Paths that keep us involved with the world and what the world can give us in order to keep us from understanding our life purpose.

Proverbs 8:32-36, "Now, young men, listen to me. Do as I say, and you will be happy. Listen to what you are taught. Be wise; do not neglect it. The man who listens to me will be happy- the man who stays at my door every day, waiting at the entrance to my home. The man who finds me finds life, and the Lord will be pleased with him. The man who does not find me hurts himself; anyone who hates me loves death."

Our life purpose is to stay close to God and not get pulled into the world. We must have a real relationship with our father in order to succeed in our life.

I know from my own life experience that I am a happier person when I seek God first. I am a successful person even though situations have caused me to start my life over in this world three different times.

I am a stronger person because I depend on God and not on what I can make of myself in this world. I know that I am not full of pride because I know that everything I have experienced could not have been conquered and achieved without God's help.

I have knowledge because of what I have suffered. I have gained wisdom because I remained close to God. I have understanding that without God I am empty and lost.

I haven't found the book I had as a child, but I have found many good children's Bible books. Stories full of illustrated pictures that would give my grandchildren a good beginning as they begin to understand why Jesus needs to be the light for their lives. My prayers will be for them to look up and see the lighthouse of Jesus and run to Him so they can win their game of life.