Tuesday, October 4, 2011

"What Is Our Purpose?"

Why do we exist? Have you ever thought about that? Why are we here? People seem to have many different ideas to answer that. Let's look at this briefly.
In God creating this world, the animals were created from the dust of the ground just as man. The difference between man and animal is that animals possess only "animal life." They have no soul, no eternal part within them to exist forever. Animals were simply created from the earth (Gen. 2:19). We as humans were given a soul, a life living, eternal soul. Man was created in the image of God while animals weren't. (That kind of destroys the notion of evolution!)
To be created in the image of God is a great act of love and kindness. When we love someone, we try to impress upon them how much we care for them and so it is with God. He wants man to take His love and have a loving, living relationship with Him. God walked with man created in His image in the garden. Talking, showing and sharing in a close relationship that no animal on the face of the earth ever shared in. God created man to spend time with, to share in life together extending fellowship. Can you imaging God wanting to have fellowship with us, desiring us? Here came sin, the very enemy of God. It marred the relationship and pushed God to the side. God drove man from His presence because of sin (Gen. 3:24). From that day to present, man began his existence separated from His Creator and our eternal soul was doomed. The very soul God created!
God wanted fellowship with man and still does to this day. He grieved over man's condition. He longed for the closeness with man. He called Moses to deliver His people from bondage. A tabernacle was constructed in the middle of the people so the Creator could be with them and dwell among them. Solomon came onto the scene and he built a temple for the same reason. God lived in the presence of man. But this wasn't enough. God sent His Son, His only begotten in the form of man and He lived among us showing how much God cares. Christ died because man was hostile. That's what sin does! Jesus Christ raised and ascended back to the Father. Out of the death and resurrection of our Lord came into existence of a spiritual body called "the church. Through this body of Jesus, God reaches out among men and women separated from Himself. Christ's body does not exist for itself, to promote itself but it is the extension of the love of God reaching out to man saying, "I want a relationship with you." The love of God for mankind is seen or should be seen in the church.
Why do we exist? What is really our purpose? To bring a gospel message to those unreconciled, separated from the Lord that it doesn't have to be that way. You can live forever, eternally with God. In our existence, we bring glory to God (Eph. 1:6) because the grace of God is trying to save those created in the image of God!

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