Why
Are We Here?
In all
of human literature, only in the Bible do we find an authoritative
description and reasonable explanation of where we came from,
why we are here, and where we are going. The Bible claims
to be written not "by the will of man, but holy men of God
spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).
Where
Did We Come From?
In the
Holy Scriptures we learn about the creation of the heavens
and the earth. We learn about the creation of all the creatures
and vegetation; and we learn about the creation of Adam and
Eve, our human parents from the dust of the ground. We also
learn about a rebellion that took place in heaven and how
that rebellion was transferred to this earth and how our parents
were caught up in that rebellion. We learn about God's plans
for overcoming that rebellion by sending His Son, Jesus Christ,
our Creator, to live for us, die for us, and to share with
us His mission and ministry to save others. We learn from
Him the principles of life, how to love, be patient and kind,
how to forgive one another and do what is right, how to love,
accept and serve others as He has loved, accepted and served
us. We also learn of how He wants to share His inheritance
with us throughout all eternity. We do not comprehend all
that He means to us and has done for us.
Consider
this: 100 years ago, where were you and I?
We were
nothing, nonexistent, nada. We were nothing, then we were
conceived by our parents, and we developed and grew and were
nourished in our mother's womb. Then we were born and we lived
and grew up, hopefully nurtured by the love of our parents,
and we received our nutrition and oxygen from the products
of the earth.
The sun
rises every morning to bring light and warmth and energy to
the earth and its inhabitants. Photosynthesis, the complex
synthesis of putting together various elements of the earth
to create plants that are entirely different from their independent
elements, is a mystery that only God understands. And it is
a science by which He beautifies the earth and feeds all its
inhabitants. Radiant energy and light from the sun and the
moisture of rain on the soil cause the elements of earth to
seep into and nourish the seed and roots which then form the
carbohydrates in the chlorophyll containing tissues of plants.
Magnificent planning! Incredible execution! This does not
just happen in some exotic laboratory somewhere. It happens
all around us in all the plants that exist on earth. All the
grasses, bushes, flowers, and trees are created by this process.
It's a miracle of the science of life. The plants provide
our primary food source and also the oxygen we breathe. Without
plant life, we could not exist. We literally were created
from the sperm and the ovum, and from the elements and nutrients
of the earth, from the dust of the ground, so to speak.
Likewise,
studying the scriptures to get to know God and to know His
will for our life is something that is similar to photosynthesis.
However, instead of the sun's energy that synthesizes the
moisture of rain with elements of the earth to nourish plant
life which becomes our food source and nourishment, it is
God Himself and Jesus who synthesize the moisture of the Holy
Spirit, representing the rain, with the elements of God's
Word, the Bible, that provides spiritual nourishment and growth
for our lives. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (John
6:35). Jesus provides all the nutrients necessary for our
spiritual life, health, and vitality. Temporal bread becomes
beneficial and life-sustaining only as it is eaten, digested,
and assimilated. Similarly, Christ, the living bread from
heaven (John 6:51), must be fully eaten, digested, and assimilated
into our characters. We must continually nourish our spiritual
lives by feeding on Christ who is the bread of life. One writer
said, "Our Saviour is the bread of life, and it is by beholding
His love, by receiving it into the soul, that we feed upon
the bread which came down from heaven" (Thoughts from the
Mount of Blessing, p. 112).
God reveals
Himself to us in His created works, He reveals Himself to
us in the Bible, He reveals Himself most fully to us in the
life of Jesus, and He reveals Himself to us by His Holy Spirit.
God's creation of the physical world, including you and me,
is an expression of the thought and works and love of God.
God created us from the genes of our parents and from the
elements of the earth. From essentially nothing to forming
a body for us, He gives us the breath of life, intelligence,
and He shares His Holy Spirit with us in proportion as we
desire to be filled with it. So why has He done this for you
and me?
Why
Are We Here?
Everyone
wonders why we are here. Few people have a good answer. We
do know that we live in a rebellious world. God wants us to
know the difference between good and evil. In life we choose
what values we will live by whether they are good values or
not so good values. We are witnesses of the good and evil
about us, and our lives are influenced by good and evil. The
quality of the life that we live is determined by the quality
of choices that were made for us as we were growing up and
the quality of choices that we make for ourselves as adults.
We are
here experiencing life in its rebellious state, and God wants
us to learn from our experience the lessons of life. He has
given to us a lesson book to study so that we may be successful
learning the lessons of life. He wants us to learn from our
mistakes and from the mistakes of others so that we may be
prepared for the life to come.
What are
the lessons God would have us to learn? The only way I know
how to summarize it is to quote Jesus, "Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth
of God." That's what God would have us to learn. We need to
know God and what it is that He is trying to tell us. We need
to learn that we can trust Him, and we need to learn how to
live by His instruction, His nourishment so to speak. It's
the only safe way for us to live in this rebellious world.
At the
beginning of Christ's ministry, he went to a wedding in Cana.
The wedding party ran out of wine and His mother came to Him
and said, "They have no wine." Jesus said, "What does that
have to do with me" (John 2:4)? His mother said to the servants
nearby, "Whatever He says to you, do it" (John 2:5). Now,
Mary didn't know what Jesus was going to do. However, Mary
knew Jesus. She knew that Jesus had a way of solving people's
problems, and she relied on Him to solve this problem. Jesus
told the servants to fill the waterpots with water. When that
was done, he told them to draw some out and take it to the
master of the feast. And you know the rest of the story. The
water was turned to wine. The point here is that Mary told
the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. They did
it and the problem was solved.
When we
learn that we can trust God and His Word and that what He
tells us to do is what is best for us, we will be blessed
beyond our comprehension. His blessings come most fully to
those who are obedient to Him, to those who do what He asks
them to do. When we accept His leading in our lives and learn
the lessons He would have us to learn we will be more fully
prepared for life. And as we learn that Jesus is there for
us, He helps us to solve our problems.
So,
Where Are We Going and Why:
The Bible
tells us what will happen to the good and the evil. God does
not leave us ignorant as to our future. The Bible shares with
us an insight about where we are going and why. From the scriptures,
we know the future. We are told what is going to happen and
why. We know that Jesus is coming again, and He wants us to
live with Him. We know that after a period of time spent in
Heaven, the New Jerusalem will be transported to this earth.
John tells us, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there
was no more sea, then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell
with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will
be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every
tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow,
nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things
have passed away' " (Revelation 21:1-4).
Now why
would God do that for us, a sinful and rebellious race? He
is going to transport the Holy City, New Jerusalem, from heaven
to earth. He is going to dwell with us and be our Father,
our brother, and friend. The earth will become the headquarters
of the universe, the place where God dwells. It's wonderful
and I'm looking forward to it, but why would He do that for
us?
Again
we have an insight into the why in Christ's words in Revelation
3:21. Jesus said, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit
with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with
My Father on His throne."
What does
sitting down with Jesus on His throne imply? A throne implies
a seat of government. A throne is a place from which a king
rules his empire. Christ sitting down with His Father on His
Father's throne implies that Christ is involved with His Father
in the government of the universe. The throne of God implies
the seat of the Government of God. God is the Creator and
governor of the universe. Jesus said, "To him who overcomes
I will grant to sit with Me on My throne." To me that implies
that those who overcome will be involved with Jesus in the
administration of His universe. What a vision, what a hope,
and what an irony!
This is
the irony: The mighty Lucifer and his angels rebelled against
their Creator and lost their position in the heavens and in
the government of the universe. You and I, who were nothing
before conception and birth, were parented, grew up and nourished
by the elements and products of the earth. We received spiritual
nourishment from God through His Word, we were watered by
the Holy Spirit, and we received and accepted Jesus to show
us the way. As we are faithful to the Spirit of God who lives
in us and leads us, He teaches us how to live, and how to
love God and our neighbor as ourselves; and we become prepared
by the Spirit of God to be witnesses and messengers for Christ
- not only here and now, but also in the future to the universe,
ultimately taking the place of Lucifer and his angels. And
we will be faithful messengers and witnesses for God and for
Christ because we know from experience the hell that we have
suffered because of sin and sickness and death and because
of disobedience to the laws of nature, physical and spiritual.
Summary:
The Lord
Jesus Christ, by His life, by the Holy Scriptures, and by
His Holy Spirit has pledged Himself to be with us, to lead
us and bless us and provide everything that is needed to fulfill
His promises to us. He is our life, our spiritual nourishment,
the bread of life. He asks us to dwell in Him as He dwells
in us. Only in this way can He truly be our inspiration. "I
am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and
I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing"
(John 15:5). The power of our witness is dependent on our
connection with Jesus.
The Bible
assures us of God's love for us, His full and complete salvation
for us, and His provision to be with us and bless us as we
learn to love and serve others for Him. In the scriptures,
God reveals our past, our present, and our future and He reveals
Himself to us. He shares with us His vision.
It is
God's purpose that everyone in heaven and on earth be brought
into unity in Jesus (see Ephesians. 1:9, 10). And God has
given Jesus Christ to us as a Saviour, a brother, and friend
to show us the way to a life without end and without the sin,
sickness, and evil that plague this world. God and Jesus Christ
have pulled aside the veil, and have revealed to us Their
purpose, and the future that we have, if we are willing to
accept it. If we accept God's vision and plan for our lives
and we accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of our life, then we
are in unity with Him; and our mission is to help others to
know Him!
What a
wonderful opportunity God has shared with us, that we may
be involved with Him in helping people to come into unity
with Jesus. Making friends for Jesus is making friends for
eternity. I look forward to the time when sin and sickness
no longer inhibit our ability to love and minister to one
another in the fullness of God's wonderful Spirit.
Where
did we come from? - We were nothing and He literally created
us from the dust, from the elements of the earth.
Why
are we here? - We are here to learn the lessons of life,
to learn the difference between good and evil, to learn that
we can trust God and His leading in our lives and to be witnesses
to His creative and re-creative power in our lives.
Where
are we going? - We have a choice. We can return to dust
or we can accept God's wonderful and fabulous offer of adoption
into His family. Oh what manner of love the Father has bestowed
on us that we may become the children of God (see 1 John 3:1).
We may receive an inheritance with Jesus and be involved with
Him in the administration of His universe.
We cannot
comprehend what that means. But it will be glorious and wonderful.
We will be family and we will celebrate our kinship with God
and with one another every Sabbath forever (Isaiah 66:23).
What a
wonderful privilege God has given to us to make friends for
Him and for eternity.
May God
"who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we
ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20) bless you according to the
inheritance He has given to us in Christ Jesus.
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