One of the most popular songs across the world is “Jesus loves me.” I love the way the song reveals the source of that good news: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” So if you ask Christians why they have confidence in what they believe, they may smile and tell you, “The Bible tells me so.” Beliefs matter. What we believe about God, life and ourselves determines whether we shall live well or poorly. As we search from childhood for life-giving truth upon which to build our lives, we can turn to no greater source than the Bible. It is surely God’s Guidebook for living. The Bible tells us, for example, that we can have an “empty way of life” or “fullness of joy” through serving Christ. Peter reminds us that Jesus died to redeem us from an empty life: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers , but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19). A life of joyless emptiness is ours when we ignore God and chase after selfish dreams, dreams of doing what we think will make us happy. In his book, Healing Meditations for Life, David Seamands tells about a man who spent half his life chasing the wrong dream but finally “saw the light.” As a boy the man had dreamed of joining the Navy and, in his words, “reach the top of the ladder” as a Naval officer. He had worked hard. His dream had come true. His next promotion would make him an Admiral. But one day God lifted the veil and showed the man the shocking truth of his empty life. God gave him a new dream for his life. It would be a life focused on serving Jesus rather than himself. The man described what happened to him this way, “Although I had indeed reached the top of the ladder, I suddenly realized the ladder was leaning against the wrong building!” Is your ladder leaning against the right building?If your ladder is leaning against the wrong building, you might want to move it. And if your friends ask you why, you could tell them the Bible told you so. + + +