What on earth are you here for? It is a big question to ask in life but I wonder how many people stop to ask themselves this sort of question. May be you should stop and answer the question for yourself before you read on and then come back and see what I have to say on the subject. You might even want to yarn to others to see what they have to say. What a great way to talk about things that matter with your non Christian mates.
If you are going to live the average life then you should plan to live for around 25550 days so it is worth your while investing a bit of time to think through this issue.
Well what on earth are you here for? Those who proclaim that we are some evolved species here by accident just to pass on our ‘accidents’ to future generation have no hope. Whilst they have no proof of the unsubstantiated theories of the evolutionary process they also have nothing to look forward to.
Another often quoted reason for what we are here for is given by a bloke I know. He sees life as simply passing on a better place for the future generations. It might sound a noble ideal but what does it mean to leave a better place?
Does ‘better’ mean back in its natural state, more developed or better managed? Does ‘better’ mean physically better, relationally better or spiritually better? How easy it is to undo years of hard work making the place ‘relationally better’ with a harsh word. We might have the place looking physically better but the tension in the air caused by misplaced priorities and words might mean we think of it as a horrible place, one that is certainly not ‘relationally better’ than when we first came.
Others see life as simply all about material enjoyment. To be able to consume all the things that technology and wealth can give. The latest car, the biggest house, the wildest holiday, it is one of the greatest problems in our society. The bible says, “A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump” (Proverbs 11:28 Message). Some of the richest people in the world are without purpose and hope. They live a self-orientated purposeless life.
The rest of the verse I quoted to you above says this, “a God shaped life is a flourishing tree”.
Another passage of the bible goes like this, “Blessed are they who trust in the Lord… They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by the long months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they go right on producing delicious fruit”. (Jer 17:7ff NLT)
In other words God is saying that if you want to get the most out of life then you need to know your creator. It actually makes sense. If you know, trust in and follow God then you will be sustained through the tough times and you will also enjoy life to the fullest, like a tree filled with fruit.
Bertrand Russell was someone who did not believe in God and yet he once said, “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.”1
Well, what on earth are you here for?
1. Moorhead, Hugh S., “The Meaning of Life”, Chicago Review Press, 1988