How to Find Purpose and Peace: Why Am I Here?

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE : Hope

Have you ever wondered what your purpose is in life? Or why you are alive? Thinkers and great philosophers have been puzzling over this very thing since the beginning of time. You can find hundreds of ideas or postulations, but it seems like no one really knows for sure. How incredibly frustrating is that? Life would be so much easier if it came with some sort of instruction manual and clearly defined checkpoints. You know how in spy movies the agent gets a dossier full of mission-specific information? How cool would it be if you were given one at birth? A breakdown of your skills, abilities, personality traits, where to go to school, what to study, where to live, who to marry; a clear map and timeline of difficulties that occur, and how to prepare for them. As nice as that would be, sadly that is not the case. What I can do, is offer my humble opinion as to what our purpose in life is, and why we are here.

In my life the only thing that I have found that defined my purpose in life, and why I'm here is God. Perhaps you've found something else that gives you purpose and makes you happy. Right on. More power to you. But if you're totally grasping at the wind like so many people are, I wanted to offer guidance. Rick Warren's book A Purpose Driven Life has sold millions of copies around the world. People are dying to know what the purpose of life is. Warren's book identifies that our purpose is to know and love God. It's a great book by the way I recommend checking it out. I also wanted to offer my humble two-cents on the matter in hopes that it encourages you, and gives you some guidance in life.

We were all created by God. Whether you think that occurred through evolution, or a literal creation story I leave that up to you. I personally believe in evolution, and believe it was brought about by an intelligent Something. But anyways, I believe we were created by God for a number of reasons. We were created for fellowship with Him. He desperately wants to be a part of your life, and have a relationship with you. He wants it so much He even sent His son Jesus to the earth to help make it possible. God wants to be your Friend, and He wants to do life with you. As in all things that were created, He made them to bring praise and glory to Himself. We were also created to delight ourselves in God, praise Him, and to glorify Him. All things exist and have their being in God. That is the purpose of our lives; to know and love God, and be loved by God. That is why we exist.

You are no accident, my friend. You have worth, you are loved, you are infinitely valuable, and you are beautiful. There is only one of you in all the world. There has never been, and there never will be, anyone like you for the rest of history. God had a unique mission for you in mind when He created you. Only you can accomplish it. God made you unique and special, and He loves you with an infinite love. Maybe you felt unloved by your parents, family, boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, friends, boss, coworkers etc.; but God will always love you. He will never stop loving you. There is nothing you can do that will ever stop Him from loving you.

In the beginning, there were two people Adam and Eve who walked closely with God. They lived in a paradise called the Garden of Eden. God gave them free will and only one rule; do not eat the fruit of a certain tree in the Garden. However Satan (the Devil) tricked them into eating it, and this disobedience (sin) caused a huge rift between a Holy God and mankind. The punishment for disobedience and sin against God was death. But God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in our place so that we could be made right with Him again.

We only have to trust in Jesus, confess Him as our savior, trust that He died on a cross for our sins, believe He was raised to life again, and repent of our sins. We can ask His Holy Spirit to dwell in us (God has three aspects Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). When Jesus was dying on the cross, there were two thieves also being crucified with Him. One of them trusted in Jesus as his Savior and was saved, and we can be saved as well! "42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Luke 7:42-43 (KJV).

Key Takeaways:

-God wants to be your Friend, and do

life with you.

-We exist to love God and be loved by

Him.

-You are no accident, God created you

with a specific mission in mind that

only you can accomplish.

-God will love you no matter what.

-Jesus died to save your soul. If you

were the only person in the world, He

still would have died for you.