Feb 07, 2011 Asking Questions
Originally posted on June 23, 2003
If you are checking out this web site, there is a good chance you are searching for spiritual truth; for meaning, purpose, and love; for God. Every search is really a question in need of an answer.
A friend of mine told me that when a person walks into a counselor’s office, one of the big life questions he or she is asking is, “What am I here for?”
The interesting thing about asking the big questions of life is that we usually ask them indirectly. Instead of, “What am I here for?” we may say, “I’m bored with this job” or, “I need some direction, I need a change.” We think that if we can change the circumstances of life, we solve the riddle of the meaning of life.
Christianity doesn’t do avoidance very well. Instead of tinkering with circumstances, it goes straight at the meaning issue and wrestles it to the ground. The writers of the Bible looked at life squarely and asked the same question we do. A gracious God met these writers and revealed to them the answer to one of life’s most basic questions.
Our purpose in life is to know and enjoy God in a relationship with Him. Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3
Many people do not know that God can be known. They do not realize that God can be personal. God has been for them a distant being who is disconnected from the real world and their daily lives. These people are left to figure out the purpose in life on their own. They are still asking, “What am I here for?”
The wisdom of the Bible tells us that every person is born with the need to know God. It also tells us that because of our sin, we are separated from God and from His purpose for our lives. Sin is that state of living without regard to God and His ways revealed in the Bible. This is the state of everyone at some point in life.
But there is more. The Bible tells us that we can know God by embracing His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the penalty of our sin on the cross and opened up the door for all who believe in Him to enter a personal relationship with God. The call of Jesus to us is to believe in Him, commit our lives to Him, and follow Him.
A short web site letter is not enough to help you think through the message of the Bible about the purpose of life, but hopefully it is a start. I encourage you to begin reading the Bible for yourself. I hope you read with an open mind and feel free to pray to God for help as you do. I also invite you to worship with us at Grace Community Church and let us know how we can help you in the search.
Scott Patty, Pastor