Tuesday, 2 November 2021

Created for what?

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One of the questions people often ask is, "What is it all about?", or - in other words - "Why am I here?" It is part of the human condition to think about life and its purpose. As the Bible says: "[God] has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (Ecclesiastes 3:, 11). Without even asking, man is already curious and wants to know what is going on, what is the larger game plan - if there is a game - and jyst what part we play in that overall design. Surely, it cannot be that we just live out our three score years and ten, and then just disappear in a puff of smoke.

Atheists dismiss such feelings as simply being untamed arrogance. We want to think that we matter and that there is some purposes, rather than just accepting that life is life, a biological function, and stops when we die. Not so much a puff of smoke as simply coming to an end. No heartbeat, no oxygen, no consciousness. We just stop, leaving a physical body that needs to be disposed of and returned to the ground so that its elements can be recycled by nature. Those of us who know better recognise this as arrant nonsense, a smoke-screen put up by those who don't like the terms God is offering and so pretend that He doesn't exist.

The Bible, on the other hand, is full of purpose: God's purpose in creation, God's creation of mankind - a creature with whom He could have a meaningful relationship rather than blind but unthinking obedience. We are told about the purpose of Messiah, coming to provie a way back to God fro those who got it wrong adn ned to start again - and let's face it, we're all in that boat so we eed o get over it!

But once we are believers, once we have been "born again" and accepted God's invitation in Yeshua to come into His kingdom, there is some misunderstanding about what happens next. Some people think that there is nothing left to do: we have out ticket to heaven and for us to attempt to 'do' anything would be an affront to God's sovereignty, trying to earn His favour or our salvation. These folk essentially do nothing, just cruising through life as if there has been no change. Everything is up to God and they just react to what happens as they feel best. This all seems rather purposeless and drifting - it doesn't offer any constructive targets, goals or objectives. The focus is just on existing until we get to heaven; that is all that matters.

Paul - as you may guess - has a rather different perspective. He gives us this explanation:

Ephesians 2:10 We are his workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Now life has purpose. God has already created good works, fruitful activities, for us to do, to walk in, to make our lifestyle and a witness for Him.