Why Do We Exist
QUESTION: Why Do We Exist?ANSWER:"Why do we exist" is a reflective question that has been pondered for millennia. Many have attempted to answer this question in the past. Some make an entirely unsubstantiated claim we exist because of random occurrences and that there is no purpose to life. They must accept on faith alone that this is the case, where as a
theistic view is embedded in evidence.
Many popular books and seminars will tell us to look within ourselves to discover why we exist. This self-centered philosophy, propagated by many New-age philosophers, neglects to account for the notion that we did not create ourselves. Were that the case, we could not find the truth of our origins within ourselves. You cannot solve the mystery of the existence of a synthetic object if you are not familiar with it; the object cannot tell you the purpose of its existence. Only the creator of the object can describe its creation. Oftentimes a creator will provide a handbook to tell us why his or her creation exists.
Our Creator has given us a handbook for life that explains our origins and purpose. The Creator of life has given us the Bible, which is composed of law, historical information, poetry, prophecy, and divinely inspired letters that explain our role in the universe. The Apostle Paul writes:
"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him" (Colossians 1:16).
This explains our origins, and to some extent the reason for our origins. Fortunately, we have been told the nature of our Creator, to further help us answer the question "Why do we exist."
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:8).
God is love. God is not subject to desires such as that for pleasure; His existence is beyond this. He did not create us for His own carnal desires; He created us for the proliferation or multiplication of love.
It is for this reason that the commandments are summed up in two decrees: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30-31).
God's commandments are merely a guide to how we should increase love - His love. "This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands" (1 John 5:2).
The purpose of our life is to love God, and therefore to keep His commandments, because He created us for love. The question is have you accepted God's love for you? Will you accept His grace? His mercy? His ultimate sacrifice? The evidence of our acceptance, and the purpose of our very existence, is in our love for God and man.
