Coming to the conclusion for why you exist

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The following commentary is an additional resource for this week's Sunday School lesson written by John Yarbrough. 

“Why am I even here? Why do I exist?”

This is a question that has been asked millions of times by countless people. It is a good question and one worth answering. But is it the best question? I think a better one would be: Why did God create me? Why did God put me here?

Sometimes you may feel like the man who said, I’ve got a clock that tells me when to get up, but some days I need one to tell me why.”

To understand our existence, one must begin with the foundation of a Creator, and that Creator is Jehovah God. This is the only way to understand the “why” of life.

If we believe the Bible we must eventually come to the conclusion that we were created for Him.

There is a phrase in Genesis 1 that is repeated over and over again. “Then God said…” So, in short, why do I exist? Because God said so.

Isn’t that wonderful? God willed that you and I just be. God wanted us. He wanted you.

The Bible tells us that we were created in the image of God. God stamped us with His image. If you want a visual picture of what God would look like in the flesh, you must look to Jesus. That means that we were created for Him, and not Him for us.

I was born to two parents, a mom and a dad. I had no say in the matter. God did not ask my opinion. Yet, He loved me enough to allow me to be born. He put me in a position to have an eternal relationship with Him even before I was a thought in my parents’ mind and even before they met.

“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16

Understanding this is essential for life to make sense.

God created man to reflect His image 

This may or may not be a true story, but it makes a point. Michelangelo is said to have been standing in front of a large piece of granite. Someone once asked him, “What are you going to sculpt?

 “A horse” he replied.

When asked how, he answered, “By knocking off everything that doesn’t look like a horse.”

God in Christ through the Holy Spirit is in the process of knocking me out of me. He is conforming me to the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a process that will not be finished until I am in His presence.

In Colossians 1:19-29 Paul confesses that it was the pleasure and purpose of God for all “fullness” to dwell in His Son and through His Son “to reconcile all things to Himself.” We were alienated from God and even hostile toward God in living evil lives. It is only by being reconciled to God through redemption that we can even begin to live lives that bring Him pleasure.

God made man to relate to Him

“Then God said, Let Us make man in Our likeness.” This was God’s initial, and ultimate, purpose for mankind. We were created to know Him, to do His will, to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. However, when man sinned he fell from the place of God’s purpose and therefore can only fulfill that purpose through a redeemed life.

God desires a relationship with us and went to great lengths to make a way for us to have that relationship.

Warren Wiesbe says, “Being created in the image of God implies that we have something in our inner nature that relates us to God.”

Augustine said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

French Philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”

God created man to rely on Him for everything

The Bible says that we are to trust in Him with all our heart (Proverbs 3:5, Isaiah 26:4).

Jeremiah says that man who trusts in man is under a curse. In contrast, the man who trusts in the Lord is blessed and like a flourishing shrub that doesn’t fear the heat nor drought. He will be fruitful (Jeremiah 17:5-9; John 6:63; Jeremiah 33:3).

God has great plans for His children. They are good plans filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11). He promises to supply our every need out of the abundant riches of Christ (Philippians 4:19).

God created man to rule over His creation

God gave man the responsibility and privilege to rule and have dominion over His creation.

In Numbers 14:21, the Lord says, “All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD,” and in Isaiah 43:7, the Lord refers to His people as those “whom I have created for My glory”.

God is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). All of us have an opportunity to repent and turn to Him (2 Peter 3:10).

Yes, we are here to know Him and to make Him known. We are here for His purpose and outside of His purpose we cannot fully realize who we are and why we are here. We are to reflect His glory and bring Him pleasure to the end that He be glorified.

What kind of relationship do I have with my Creator?

Am I reflecting His glory?

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