PROGRAM W-1762 – Part II
Did you ever say, “Ah, what’s the use?!”—perhaps in disgust at someone or a difficult situation? All of us have, at times, felt like there was no purpose or reason, or like it didn’t make any difference—so why bother?! Some people have that attitude toward life: “Ah, what’s the use?! Nothing makes any sense. It’s all futile. Why am I here anyway?”
Solomon has expressed this universal feeling of meaninglessness in the book of Ecclesiastes. This man, who had achieved wealth and fame never known before, said this:
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)
“Ah, what’s the use?” Solomon said. “Why am I here?” In the midst of his success, accomplishments, and wealth, Solomon lost sight of the basic issue of life: What was it all for, anyway?
Maybe that’s where you are today. You may have experienced great success and achieved levels that were guaranteed to bring you satisfaction and fulfillment. Yet, in the midst of those achievements, you feel like Solomon—everything is meaningless, like chasing after wind.
On the other hand, perhaps your despair is because nothing has gone right: life is a mess and you can see no reason for getting up in the morning. Life seems to be endless days of nothingness.
Either way—whether from much or little—all of us at some time come to a place where we ask ourselves, Why am I here? It’s very important that we do, indeed, ask that question because, without knowing why we’re here, we’re like waves of the sea, tossed to and fro, on a see-saw journey to nowhere.
I have shared how you are here because you were created by God—you’re not some cosmic accident. God created you by himself and for himself; You were created for God’s purposes. We’ve also seen that God created us for his pleasure—what a mind-boggling thought that is! We are here to bring pleasure to God! Lastly, we are created for his glory, so that people will see us and glorify God because of us. These foundational truths are most important!
Now, let’s look at some more biblical reasons why you and I were created.
You are created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us that “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
You were not created to wallow around down here in sin and rebellion; you were not created to be constantly defeated and corrupted, and to live like you always have. You were created to put on a new person—the same body with a new person inside—and this new person is created for victorious living. You are created to be like the Lord. Second Corinthians 3:18 puts it this way:
And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Why are you here? You are here to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus with ever-increasing glory. Is that happening? Can you see that you are more like Jesus this year than you were last year? If not, then maybe it’s because you haven’t yet put off your old self and put on the new; or perhaps you’ve been feeding the old self and starving the new one, so the old self keeps winning.
When we are continually defeated in our Christian life, we can easily start wondering why we are here. Let me emphasize this: you are here to show the world what Jesus is like, and you do that by becoming more and more like him. That’s a reason for living that makes life very meaningful.
You are created to have fellowship with Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:9 reminds us that “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Now, fellowship is a rather “churchy” word, so let’s translate it into our everyday language: We are called to have fellowship—a friendly relationship, a companionship—with Jesus Christ. Please allow your mind to dwell on that and try to comprehend it. Why are you here? To have a friendly relationship with Jesus, to be his companion.
Are you on friendly terms with Jesus? Are you comfortable in his presence? Do you like to talk about him and to him? Is his presence real to you—no matter where you are or what you are doing? Do you find that in free moments your mind frequently dwells on him and how much you love him? You were created for this reason.
When I started telling the stories of Fran and Jesus on the Job, I wanted to communicate what it means to have fellowship with Jesus Christ. If you haven’t heard any of those episodes, you can find many in the archives of our website. I believe they will help you to understand what life is like when you have a friendly relationship and a companionship with Jesus Christ.
Yes, the King of kings and Lord of lords wants to have that kind of relationship with you. That is why you are here, and it makes all the difference in the world when you know that.
You are created for good works.
There is one final passage that reminds us of why we are here, Ephesians 2:10:
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
In the verse that precedes this, we are reminded that we are saved by grace through faith and this not by works, so that no one can boast. We’re not saved by works, but we are created in Christ Jesus—born again in him—to do good works. Did you know that God has a list of works prepared for you to do? If you’ve been saved by grace, you now have the power to do good works because you are in Christ and he is in you. Are you doing the good works that God has prepared for you to do?
Maybe you’re saying, “I don’t know; how can I know what good works God has prepared for me to do?” Any time spent in the Bible will clearly reveal what these good works are. In 1 Timothy 6:18, Paul writes, “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
This is a good place to start—do good things for other people, things you don’t have to do. Be generous with your time, your energy, your ideas, your money, and share what you have with others. Those are some good examples of good works. We are called to be servants, and if you sincerely ask God to help you be a servant and do good works, you’ll find plenty of good works to do. As believers, we are created for these good works. They should be the hallmark of our existence, the thing people know us for.
I can think of many Christians who are rich in good deeds. They’re always doing for others, giving of themselves, sacrificing much to do good things. They are the happiest, most fulfilled people I know!
Live in harmony with your reason for being here.
This brings me to my final and most important point: We can never know true joy, freedom, or meaning in our lives until we are in harmony with our reason for being here. It’s not that we must go out and dig up a purpose for life. We have been created by God, he owns us, and he has told us why we are here. Now, we must live to fulfill his purpose in his creation and, when we do that, guess who wins? We do!
Let’s review what we’ve covered as to why we are here: We’re here because God has created us, and he created us for specific purposes:
- We were created for his pleasure.
- We were created for his glory.
- We were created to be like God in righteousness and holiness.
- We were created to have fellowship with Jesus.
- We were created to do good works.
That’s it—that’s the reason we are here! It’s no mystery—it’s clear and understandable. When we are confused or unclear about our reason for being here, it’s either because we haven’t yet become a new person in Christ, or because we haven’t known or been willing to live our lives according to God’s purpose.
I’ve known companies and organizations who have never clearly defined what their mission is. Those companies usually flounder and go out of business quickly because they don’t really know why they exist. They are totally unprepared for difficult economic conditions, advanced technology, changes in the marketplace, etc., and they get lost in the shuffle.
Likewise, as individuals we can get lost in life’s shuffle when we don’t have a strong underlying understanding of why we exist. This means we need to know why we were created, because true meaning in life can only come by being in harmony with the reason our Creator made us in the first place.
So, what can you do to live in harmony with the Creator’s purpose for your life? Get to know God better and better all the time. Get in his Word on a regular basis, studying and reading the Bible. The more you do, the more you will be in harmony with your reason for being here. Also, spend consistent, quality time in prayer—you can’t get to know God without spending time in his presence. This pursuit of God will establish a pure lifestyle, fellowship with Jesus, joy in his delight in us, and many good deeds which will bring glory to God.
Those are not new answers, are they? Know God, know your Bible, and pray. I’ve said them over and over, and you’ve heard them from many other sources. Maybe we need to stop looking for shortcuts and barking up wrong trees, and simply go back to this basic answer. It’s not an easy answer, but it is a simple one. If you are looking for meaning and purpose—a reason to get up each day and put one foot in front of the other—your search must begin with a pursuit of God and a commitment to get to know him more and more.