Saturday, March 15, 2014

Why Am I Here?

I think we've all asked this question at one point or another. Most people ask it with the less-articulated question rising in the background, "what is my purpose?" or perhaps the more communal question "what is humanity's purpose?" Instead of kicking a dead philosophical horse (I only call it that because this is one of those "unanswerable" questions in philosophy, so wheel spinning is about all the farther you end up with it), I'd like to answer this question with a different intention and you'll see why...

Q: Why am I here?
A: Because God loves you.

 Now, I know that at a brush this answer seems flippant and perhaps wouldn't be the best place to start in a moment of evangelism, but I think this is the truest answer available to us with any certainty.

We -- you and I and the people on television and the man on the radio and the dictator overseas and the woman in that "mens" magazine -- are here because God loves each of us. Beyond that, creation itself is here for the same reason. The ground you walk on, the air you breathe into your lungs, the forests we clear, the oceans we abuse, the quarries we dig -- all of it because of love.

Clearly the underlying intention behind my answer is a bit different than the initial question. My answer is predicated on a question of existence or, rather, of sustinence: "I shouldn't be here in this condition (whatever your situation) and yet I am. How is this so?" Instead of function or purpose, the existential question begs at a deeper query in our souls, "how does someone or something like me get to enjoy beauty and existence as such?"....Love. Divine love is the only thing that makes sense here. Furthermore, it is a love that is not contingent on your form or function, but on the source of your existence which is located in the same place as the source of love itself: God.

Now, I believe the other question is worth asking also. We ought to find something productive and Kingdom-growing to do with ourselves and our resources. We should not, however, become so distracted with what we think we ought to be doing that we forget who we ought to be being.

We -- each person of humanity, both individually and collectively -- are loved. That is why we exist. That is why we continue to exist. That should drive our purpose. Praise God.

Peace,
C.M.

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