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Why Am I Here?


 I suppose the question "Why am I here?" is either the best biggest question we could ask, or the most stupid.  I prefer to think it is the best.  Many would rather not ask it, because it can be so unsettling.  I guess it depends on your worldview. If you prefer a secular atheistic worldview, it really doesn't matter why you are here.  You exist, and there is no ultimate meaning behind your existence.  I am coming from a Judeo- Christian worldview. I believe in a Creator who had a purpose and a plan behind my existence.  In that case, I would like to know what it is. Another key question we may ask is "Who am I"?  Both questions lay the foundation for all other questions we have about life.
 

And whatever your worldview, these two questions will haunt us.  We have one life to live, apparently, and we must make some sense of it.  We have decisions to make, goals to set, and time to invest.  We need some definition that will help us along the journey.  I believe that when I ask, "Who am I?" and “Why am I here?" I am on the right track to a fuller appreciation of life and a much stronger sense of direction.

 

Philosophers and theologians down through the ages have also pondered these questions:

 

  • Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living"
  • Solomon said, "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person."
  • The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever".
  • Soren Kierkegaard, the father of existentialism, says there are three stages of development a person could move through, aesthetic, ethical and religious.  He thought the life of faith was the highest stage.
  • Rene Descartes said, "I think therefore I am."
  • Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

I imagine that the moment after God created Adam, the first thoughts he had were, “Who am I and how did I get here?"  From the moment of birth, we gain our sense of identity from our family unit.  I discover that these larger people will feed me, change my diaper and do all sorts of nice things for me.  They may hold me, sing to me, and cuddle me.  And sometimes they may even get mad at me.  I discovered that they call me by name.  I have a sense of belonging.  I know where I fit in.  I may not know "why" I am here, but I know I do exist, and I can see where I belong. As we get older these basic questions don't get easier to answer.  They get much, much harder.

 

Take the question of "Why am I here?" How do you answer that?  Do you ask a parent or a friend?  Do you try to figure it out on your own?  I suppose you can experiment with your life.  What things bring pleasure?  What brings pain?  When do you find a sense of fulfillment?  What provides a sense of meaning and purpose?  And you can ask higher order questions like "Is there a Creator, and if so, was I designed for a purpose?"

 

I personally am very skeptical of my own answers to these questions.  I would prefer to go to a better  source for questions of such importance.  I'm hesitant to take the advice of any mere mortal.  As I have investigated the answers found in the Bible I've been very satisfied with what I found…

 

The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed, "For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 29:11-14a)

 

And Jesus said, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened." (Luke 11:9-10)

 

I've found that if I really want to know who I am and why I am here, I should go to God for the answers.  He says in His Word that I can seek Him and ask Him and He will answer.  That's the place to start.  But it is only the beginning.  In future posts we will examine more carefully these eight questions:

 

  1. What is my purpose?
  2. Who am I?
  3. Where do I belong?
  4. Am I good enough?
  5. How should I invest my life?
  6. How can I find love and acceptance?
  7. How do I find happiness? 

I hope you will join me as we explore what the Bible says about these important questions.

 

All passages in this post were taken from The New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)

 


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