Related Soul Fuel Articles
- Forever Fame
- The Million Dollar Questions
- Is There Anybody Going to Listen to My Story?
- Are you Dumber than a Mentalist?
- Information You Can Bet Your Life On
- Dream it... then Whip it
- Who Does Jesus Think You Are?
- Sanjaya and God's Will for Your Life
- What I Wish Heath Ledger Would have Known
- Escape from Land of the Lost
- Me and God Almighty
- The Ultimatum on Your Born Identity
- You Don't Have a Clue
- This is Me...or is it?
- Is Love Your Drug…or Your Message?
The Million Dollar Questions
Get the discussion questions for The Million Dollar Questions
Where am I? Who am I?
How did I come to be here?
What is this thing called the world?
How did I come into the world?
Why was I not consulted?
And If I am compelled to take part in it,
Where is the director?
I want to see him.- Soren Kierkegaard
Have you ever thought about what you think about? Not that you have voices in your head, and if you do, then maybe you should seek some professional help. What I'm talking about is the subject matter that occupies your thoughts day after day and week after week.
If you're like me, most of it revolves around "in the moment" stuff like "what should I have for breakfast?", "I think I'm going to be late", and "I hope there's something good on TV tonight."
But then there's the deeper stuff. It pops up in times when you have a little more time to think about your thoughts. It is during these moments that the BIG questions of life appear, and for most people it is a scary experience.
What are the BIG questions? You probably already know, but just in case let me list them out for you:
"Who am I?"
"Where did I come from?"
"What is my purpose?"
How you answer these questions is one of the most important issues in your life, because how you answer these questions determines the direction of your life.
For example, if the answer to "who am I? and "where did I come from?" is a product of random chance in a world of random events and processes, what is the point of anything? If the answer to "what is my purpose?" is to make money and just do things that I think will make me happy, what is the meaning of anything?
Most people have given up on answering these questions, so they just go from one experience to another trying to find identity and purpose...but it won't work. As a matter of fact, no answers work except the ones given by the One who wrote the book about life. The Bible is the only place you will find the right answers to the BIG questions of life. This is one of the reasons God gave His Word to us in the first place, so we wouldn't have to look around and be confused by the apparent cosmic trivial pursuit going on.
Where am I? Who am I?
How did I come to be here?
What is this thing called the world?
How did I come into the world?
Why was I not consulted?
And If I am compelled to take part in it,
Where is the director?
I want to see him.- Soren Kierkegaard
Mr. Kierkegaard, the Director has made Himself available, and here's what He has to say:
Who am I?
You are not the product of random chance, a reincarnation of a former being, an evolving god, or a complex combination of complicated chemicals. You are a totally unique individual made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26 -27), and handcrafted by Jesus Christ
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (Ps. 139:13-16)
Think about it, out of billions and billions of people on planet earth, there is no one like you. Being made in God's image means you have infinite worth and value. So much, in fact, that God Himself came to earth 2000 ago and died a cruel and horrible death. God chose to die rather than live without you!
Where did I come from?
I think that most people are past the whole idea of "the stork dropped me off on my parent's porch" thing, but there are some pretty popular concepts floating around that sure aren't much better. Like the idea that we evolved from a lower life form (which we address in Soul Fuel #29), or that we are all related to alien life forms who went from planet to planet millions of years ago dropping little colonies of folks to start a brave new world.
And can you blame people for coming up with "sounds-logical-on-the-surface-but-is-really-a-load-of-fertilizer" ideas? After all, when you take God out of the picture, all you are left with is Marvel comic book Saturday Matinee Fairy Tale options.
But enough alien monkey business, let's get down to the truth business.
The truth is that you and everyone else on earth originally came from two people. Here's how it happened:
Then God said, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life--the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals. So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:26-27).
Adam and Eve were created by God to be the parents of all humanity. Every person on this planet is a member of one family that can be traced back to them. What a difference this makes! If I truly believed that I have a common ancestry with the apes, what would stop me from acting like an animal? On the other hand (paw?), knowing that I came from a line of God-image bearing and Jesus formed intelligent human beings, going back to the original pair gives me a huge sense of dignity and self-respect. I came from God-image bearers, so I will act like one myself!
What is my purpose?
Ah- now to the BIGGEST of the BIG questions. Ask most people about their purpose and most of the time you will get a decided "I don't know" response. There's a reason "Purpose Driven Life" is a huge hit...people are feeling purposeless!
Once again, we turn to the Designer for the answers:
Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God. (I Corinthians 10:31)
Life is about bringing glory to God. Period. Class dismissed. Your purpose in life is to make the name of Jesus famous! Where you go to college, whom you marry, where you live, what occupation you choose, and everything else in between should be run through the "purpose filter" of bringing glory to God.
How do you fulfill this purpose?
Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20).
Bringing others into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and helping them grow is the biggest way you bring glory to God and make His name famous. It also is the best way to help God move forward in bringing in His Kingdom. Think of it! We get to play a part in His-story...there is no higher purpose than that.
So why does everyone make this such a big mystery? God has given us life, and this life holds the greatest joy when we advance His Kingdom by making disciples. You can't cheat the Maker of the universe. If the purpose of your life is anything other than this, you will hit a dead end.
I hope that the next time the BIG questions come your way, you put them in their place with a word from the Designer.
Who am I? A unique individual made in My image
Where did I come from? A line of God-image bearing, Jesus formed intelligent human beings going back to Adam and Eve.
What is my purpose? To make My name famous by advancing My rule and reign.
Mr. Kierkegaard, are you taking notes?
Head: What you need to know about this truth
Human beings are unique individuals made in God's image whose ancestry is human going back to Adam and Eve. Our purpose in life is to bring glory to God by advancing His Kingdom in all that we do and say.
Heart: What you need to feel about this truth
Secure. People who can't answer the BIG questions or (even worse) believe the wrong answers are destined to live a life of insecurity. Oh, they may not act like it, but believe me - if they don't truly know who they are, where they came from, or their purpose in life...ouch. Knowing the truth about these questions should give you huge confidence in your value, worth, meaning, and purpose. People who have this kind of confidence experience life the way it was meant to be experienced. Ironically, what people are looking for with sex, drugs, and rock ‘n' roll can be found in the very last place they ever thought: in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Don't believe me? Check out this guy's story:
Hands: What you need to do about this truth
Do all things for God's glory. Make it your goal everyday to make the name of Jesus famous in your little corner of the world. This means you pay attention to how you represent God in all your relationships and activities. One of the best ways to do this is to ask your pastor, youth leader, parent, or mature Christian adult what this looks like in their lives, and what it might look like in your life. One thing is for sure, since you know the answers to the BIG questions, you have a BIG responsibility to share this with others. Non-Christians need to trust Christ, and Christians need to honor Christ.
