What is life? Why are we here? What does it all mean?
So often we spend countless hours going round and round trying to figure out the age old questions. We never really come to any kind of understanding of why, why this or why that. It usually ends for the moment on because. This is infuriating to me. This is no kind of conclusion to come to. Every why question has a real and truthful, valid answer. I will suggest to you that we cannot answer why as long as we do not understand who.
Interesting thought isn’t it? You are probably wondering why I said “why” could be answered by who. Personally I am deep thinker. Regrettably this causes me to appear to be stand offish, trending toward serious. I do enjoy a good laugh, good fun and relaxing. It’s just that I tend to analyze things until I’ve come to some kind of conclusion. I’m usually never at rest until I can figure it out. On my job this is great. In my family, this is not always a good thing. I try to steer away from drama personally and professionally. It is with this background I am approaching this subject. I want you, the reader to know that I’m carefully considering these questions.
To begin with, I don’t have the “proverbial” answer. This is just a blog to maybe open dialogue between you and God. I’m challenging you to think outside your normal way of thinking and processing. It is not a blog to change your belief system. It is not a blog to generate doubt within you. It is simply a blog to compare and reflect on what we know are truths of God’s word.
Keeping that in mind… Let’s begin, shall we?
Question 1; what is life?
To answer that question you must go all the way back to the very beginning. I’m a born again Christian and I believe God’s Word to be inerrant and Holy Spirit given. So I start there.
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God! We see that from the opening lines of the book Genesis, God was from the very beginning. Some argue that it all began with a bang of some sort. This is not my point. I am talking from a God based point of view. I believe it to be the Truth. In the very beginning when time was not and everything was in the void, God decided to create what we call life. Many would argue as to how He did that, but I believe it is actually quite simple. Scripture say that He spoke and it was. God saidlet there be light. You see life in so many different ways and things. The power of that spoken word carries across all lines. Beginning with the tiny DNA cell reaching to the magnificence of the universe beyond, we cannot explain life, until we recognize the Creator of life. The fact plainly is that He simply is. Everything within the creation is held together by His word alone. Simply put, life is God.
Question 2; why are we here?
This question can also find the answer within the Creation. God said let us make man in our image. I am not going to get off into the theology of the word (us) there. It is not relevant to my cause. The point I am making is that God made man.
One free thought I want to throw in for you to meditate on.
When God created everything He did so by decree. Genesis chapter 1 paints a beautiful picture of the Master artist designing His masterpiece. Think about this for a moment and let it sink down into your spirit man. In Genesis 2:7 there is a shift taking place.
And the Lord God formed man. Ponder that if you will. In all of creation He spoke it, setting them in place where He willed them to be. When it came to man, He stopped and reached down and began to form man out of dirt. I don’t think we realize the significance of being made hands on.
Moving on, that was just a thought off topic.
Why are we here? I believe God had a very specific plan in mind. Some will say it was to worship God. I challenge that belief based on the fact that there are host in Heaven already accomplishing that. Unless God is an egomaniac I don’t think worship was entirely what He had in mind. So the greater question, what was that reason? If you find the reason, you will find your answer as to why we are here. Looking closely at verse seven you will see that with all that God had done in creation there was not a man to till the earth. Pondering that, I find that very interesting. Moving through the scriptures to verse fifteen, God took the man and put him in the garden, to dress it and to keep it. I think that is your answer somewhat. In the grand scheme of things God made this earth. He made everything in the heavens and beyond and then decided to create a man to watch over it. It makes sense to me that He would do this. I don’t think the creation was a complicated thing at all. In the exchange God fellowshipped with the man He had created.
Question 3; what does it all mean?
This is my favorite thing to meditate on. What does life really mean? What purpose do I have on the earth? Until Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, the answer was relatively simple. God intended that man dress the earth and keep it. He had every intention of having a relationship with His creation. You can see in Genesis 3 that God walked with man in the garden. He evidently did this regularly because Adam and Eve expected Him. When they fell, scripture says that they heard the voice of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. That is an interesting couple of statements as well, if you ponder them. It says, the voice of God, walking through the garden. Cool of the day as opposed to what exactly? That’s another day’s discussion. What I am trying to get you to see is that God in all His wisdom and Power, made us to be exact replicas of Him. He did not do this because He was egotistical, rather because He wanted us to be able to identify with Him. How often have we been lost in a crowd, trepidation in our step resolved in relief at a familiar face? I think God wanted that for them, He wanted them to be at ease.
We tend to be more inclined toward the dramatic. We want to make things more intense than they really are. We over reach in explanation and application. I think that life is simply relational in our experience with God. I believe we were created exclusively to have a relationship with our Creator. In the process we were given instruction to keep the earth by dressing it and tending it. In doing this we are giving Him Glory. We have failed miserably in this arena. I’m not a conservationist by any means, although I do admire their work to a certain degree. I’m not an environmentalist by any scope of the imagination, but I do believe in the basics of their thought. God made us to keep a watch over the earth, to take care of the fields, trees and plants. In essence we are God’s gardeners. In the process, God walks with us in a relational way. I believe He enjoys the interaction, not because He needs attention, but because He loves the fellowship.
Our three questions can be answered somewhat like this;
1) Life is the Creation. It is in the brilliance of a morning sun, the roar of the majestic seas, the beauty of the morning flower, the melody of the early bird, the radiance of a new bride and the tears of newborn child. Life is simply God.
2) We are here to inhabit the Creation. God is overjoyed when we explore mountain peaks, search the depths of the seas and peer beyond the universe into that which is beyond. He is thrilled when we discover the order of the cell or the power of the atom. He is overjoyed when we breakthrough a disease and find it’s cure. These things He designed for us to do in order that we might see Him within the creation. He does not need our applause or our acclimation. What He wants, what He desires is no different than when our children are thrilled to be with us. When they look at us in awe over something we consider minute. It’s not about ego; it’s simply the joy of being relational.
3) So, taking all that we can say with surety that life means something greater than our minds can conceive. It means that in all our knowledge seeking, all truth searching is found in one answer. It’s so simple that it’s often excluded from the conversation. God wants our heart, He wants time with us. He doesn’t even require all of our time. He didn’t with Adam. He walked with Adam in the garden in the cool of the day, so I don’t believe He expects it with us. The time we give Him, He does want our undivided attention. Our devotion to the relationship. Our unwavering acceptance that our relationship is complete in Him. All of the other relationship issues flee when we do this. We have no fear of Him leaving. There is no fear of being abandoned; there is no fear of being forsaken. There is no fear He won’t listen. There is absolutely no fear He doesn’t love us.
So what is the really simple answer?
Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Matthew 6: 1-34
The challenge of these verses is not in worrying or fretting about life at all. Rather it is a compilation of reasons why you should do exactly opposite. Like on the day He created all things, He knows exactly what we need, when we need it. He invites us to a rest in these verses. He invites us to seek Him first, knowing that our needs have already been met. It is like my children, momma what are we eating, when are we eating? Each day I remind them that to date I have not failed in my responsibility to feed them. Albeit it may not be what they necessarily want to eat, it has been provided to sustain them none the less. Our awesome Creator is absolutely no different. Contrary to popular belief, most don’t realize, God is not modeling parenting after us. We are exclusive to all the rest of creation in that we are made in His image. That means every single thing in you is in His likeness alone. You need to get that down deep in your spirit.
So I end this blog with these words; if you want to know, the (what) and the (why) get to know the Creator of all that is above or below, in the heaven or earth. He holds all of the mysteries of the universe and is waiting for you to ask. Keep in mind when you do, He will answer and you need to form your opinion around the fact that He is God and we are not. He loves you, He cares for you more than you can imagine. His thoughts toward you are good. His life for you is immeasurable. He did create us eternal so that means He wanted us around forever. Let that sink in to your heart and cause you to rest.
I’m hid with Christ!
Shawn
Searching Gods Heart 
