St. Augustine's life on earth In his Middle Age

St. Augustine's life on earth

In his Middle Age

Most people who have died, in the process of their birth, growth, and return to God, must have ended their life ignorant of the fact that the human being is a microcosm and part of God's body. This is also what happened to me. As I encountered the essence of religion in my youth, my view of life started to change. From that time, wholly unlike my teenage years, I developed a great interest in all things concerning God.

The human being lives as a part of God's body, and in the universe, from extremely small atoms to the enormously large heaven, there is nothing that does not belong to God. The human body and spirit all belong to God, and from small human cells to fine human hairs, there is none that belongs to human beings themselves. Thus nothing in our possession is untouched by God's hand. How were human beings created? We know little about such matters, and yet we have treated and used our body carelessly in any way we pleased, as if we owned it. If it is true that God created us, He must know details about each of us. There must be a being who knows where we came from, through what process we were created, and what the purpose of our creation is; if this being is God, would He not know all these things?

If God is the one who planned and created us, what is the relationship between God and us? We have our physical parents and also our Creator, God. What is the relationship between parents and children. and between God and human beings? In my middle age I attempted to concretely investigate and clearly elucidate this profound matter, and God's providence. My main concerns at this time included questions such as, "For what purpose was I born in this world?" "what are God's ultimate hope and purpose for us?" and "where do we eventually go? I strove to take responsibility for the doctrines I established, for I did not want my views to cause confusion to my disciples, successors, or people of later generations. I tried to write clearly where my past life had been directed, what I had lived for, and where we come from and go to. I wanted to do a valuable work as a part of God's body and complete my mission on earth.

I made great efforts to study about God's hope for us human beings, and about God Himself. I wanted to write in detail about what our duties toward God are, and why we should live under God's law. Only in middle age did I come to understand little by little the meaning of my mother's tearful prayers. My middle age was devoted solely to living with God and writing clearly and in detail about His existence, His providence, and our duties before God. Hence, my consistent desire and the motivation of my life in middle age was to convert a world ignorant of God into a world where only God is served and worshipped.

April 20, 2000