Miles drove to the Jackson's house, realizing that he didn't have more than ½ of an hour if he hoped to get back home in time for Jesse to leave for hockey practice. When he ran the doorbell at their house, Sarah herself answered, who was exactly who he wanted to talk with.
"Sarah," he said.
"Hey, Scott," she greeted. "How're you?"
"I want to talk to you," he replied. "I need some answers. You're religious, aren't you?"
She nodded. "I'm a Christian."
"Can we talk?"
She nodded and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. They sat down on the bench swing on the porch and she asked, "What do you need?"
"What's the purpose of life?" Miles blurted. The rest of his words flowed out of his mouth before he had much say in it. "People aren't simply born to die, are they? Are we all pawns in some sadistic game, or are we made with a purpose and with love?"
Sarah took in a deep breath. "Wow, these are some pretty deep questions."
"I got in a fight with my brother, and it got me to thinking," Miles explained.
"Well, to start off, you need to know what I believe or you'll never understand my answers. I believe that God, in all His glory, is going to come back on Judgement Day when everyone still on the earth will be either taken to Heaven, or damned to Hell. But since He is a fair God, He's not going to Judge until every person on earth has had the chance to believe, until everyone has been encountered with a choice to accept Him or reject Him. So, I'd say that the purpose of life is to tell people about God, so that that day will come sooner."
"What about non-Christians? Do they have no purpose?"
Sarah hesitated. "I hate to lay this on you, but to answer plainly, I think I'd have to say no. Things have no meaning without God, I think."
"Why were we created, Sarah?" So far Miles felt as if he hadn't gotten anywhere. He had no purpose, now, unless he became a Christian, assuming their beliefs were correct. Maybe Jesse had been right. People were born to die.
"Because God is love, and love I believe is always expanding, always creating. God's love overflowed into motivating Him to create something that he could love further."
"Does God love non-Christians?"
Sarah smiled. "Of course He does. He loves everyone. He loves Mother Theresa and Osama bin Laden alike. He loves Hitler and me exactly the same way."
"How could He, though?"
"Do you love your brother?"
Miles blinked. "Yes."
"But you said you had a fight. How could you love him if you got in a fight?"
"I…" Miles wasn't sure how to answer that. "I don't know, I just do."
"Exactly. It's unconditional. That's how God feels with us. You don't love your brother for any specific reason, you just do. God just loves us. No matter what." She smiled again. "Even you, Scott Tuck. Even though you do not know the Lord, he still loves you more than you could imagine."
Miles felt something with her words that he couldn't explain, but he felt, somehow, like he knew she was speaking the truth. The words that flowed from her mouth could not be false. He didn't know how, he just knew. If anyone asked him to explain it he wouldn't be able to, because he didn't have a real reason other than that was what he felt. But most often, what we feel is more true than the logic that we would otherwise use to get us there.
"Thank you."
She nodded. "We should get together and talk more often."
"Maybe when I'm not struggling with the meaning of life," Miles said with a smirk.
Sarah laughed. "Maybe. Do you want to get together for lunch tomorrow?"
Miles first instinct was to say no. She likes Jesse, he reminded himself. He was about to reject the offer when he caught her eyes. They were a beautiful shade of hazel, looking at him intently, hopefully. They were the window to her very soul, and they told him she was sincere. Before he knew it, the word came out of his mouth.
"Yes."
