What Am I Here For?
September 13, 2017
It has been said that, “Life is the thing that happens while you are busy making other plans.” Although I am strong advocate of planning and not a big believer in “serendipity,” I think I still understand what the writer was trying to say, and I have witnessed it more today than at any previous time in my life. I am most reminded of those words, every time I see someone engrossed in their smartphone, while sitting in a room full of people. It is so easy to get distracted by insignificant details, while life whizzes by on all sides.
However, I think it is in regard to our spiritual walk, where the truth of the saying speaks the loudest.
Rick Warren’s excellent book, The Purpose Driven Life, seeks to answer one of life’s most haunting questions, “What on earth am I here for?” The simple answer, as revealed in the book, and as understood in scripture, is that we are here to be loved by God. It is a simple but life altering truth. The moment that I realize God created me so that He could love me, I am instantly set free from the fetters of rejection and hopelessness. I am propelled into a life of significance and satisfaction, where my self-worth is determined by my value to God, and not by any earthly measure. The fruit of this revelation, is that I am compelled to share this wonderful news with others. Indeed, as I grow, I realize I am here to be loved by God and for God to love through me. Paul confirms this truth in 2Cor 5:20: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” As believers that is God’s plan for us – He wants to make his appeal to humanity through us.
There are two poles which pull us from the simple purpose of our existence.
The first, is that it is very easy to become distracted by “the things of this world.” Getting an education, finding a spouse, raising a family, paying the mortgage, getting a car, a new TV, a snow blower, etc. They all distract us from the real mission of loving and being loved by God.
The opposite tendency however, is to complicate the matter. We lose focus of the simple daily mission of being loved and loving, and begin a search for something more complicated, more specific. We create ministries, and programs, and entire religious movements, while forgetting the simple commission of Christ; and “life” in the form of a sea of humanity, drifts past us, while we are making other plans.
Lord take our love to the next level. Lift our attention from the distractions of daily life and over complicating our mission, and help us to experience the depth of your love and then give it away. Amen.