May 4, 2024
The short answer to the title of the lesson is that we are here for God, that is, if you have a biblical worldview. Colossians 1:16 (NIV) makes that fact very clear, “For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”
However, we see a collision of world views when we engage the culture in answering this basic life question. The secular worldview says that we are merely here by chance and that an evolving series of events resulted in the world and human beings, as we see it today. This worldview would then say that since you are here by chance you are only a part of the ecosystem and you decide your purpose and your place in the system. Your path in life is controlled by chance and choice rather than a divine plan and purpose.
It is clear from a biblical perspective that we are here for God. He desires to have fellowship with his creation and we find fulfillment in that fellowship with God. According to His Word he blessed us and gave us the purpose and responsibility of tending His creation.
Now that the general answer to why mankind is on earth becomes clear, what is the personal answer to "Why am I here?" Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV) makes it clear that God had a purpose and plan for Jeremiah even before he was formed by God in his mother’s womb. If God has a personal purpose and plan for each of us, then life becomes much more than a series of chances. When we know the general purposes for mankind and discover His specific purpose for each of us personally, we are able to run the race of life as we were meant to experience it.
When you open the silverware drawer at your home you may find a table knife that has a bent tip. A loose screw required tightening and a screwdriver seemed unavailable. The knife was used for something other than its intended use. The results was a bent knife.
While we can function outside of God’s will in ways we were not created for, it rarely seems to work as successfully as when we are doing what we were made to do.
Perhaps it is beginning to become clear why a biblical worldview of creation is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of mankind’s uniqueness. If man is simply the amoeba that won the evolutionary contest, why would God love us so much that He would be willing to give His only son to redeem us? Why would we need redeeming anyway, if there is no design and purpose in creation? A faulty faith at the foundation (creation) yields a faulty faith that has to be adapted to conform to our worldview, rather than adapting our worldview to conform to scripture.
The movie Is Genesis History is more than a mere documentary. It is a scholarly review of physical evidence that supports a biblical worldview of creation. There are numerous theories of earth’s beginning and humans emerging from the slime. However, there is an account of creation, rather than a theory, recorded for us in the inspired Word of God.
The secular worldview would say, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die and it is over.” The biblical worldview says, “Live a life of purpose and fellowship, accept God’s purpose for your life and eternity, you were designed for eternal fellowship with Him.”
When sin entered the world and interrupted our fellowship with God, God took the initiative and provided a way to restore that relationship through Jesus Christ. When we recognize that our sin separates us from the fellowship with God that we were designed to enjoy, we recognize that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins in order that we could have fellowship with God now and for all eternity. We must recognize and repent of our sin, then by faith acknowledge that Jesus paid for our sins and receive His free gift of forgiveness.
