Why Am I Here?
Second in a 4-part series about finding and living out your life’s purpose
The next time you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, take a look at the people around you. Three out of the four of them yearn for their life to have significance, says pollster George Barna. His recent study reveals that 77% American adults are driven to have a clear sense of purpose.
Image: www.gracecrcofcobourg.org
Each of us wants to experience personal significance. In that search for meaningful lives, one of the first questions people ask is, “Why am I here?” God’s Word has some powerful answers.
Who You Are and What You Do
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (NKJV).
“Why are you here?” Your purpose is wrapped up in two truths offered in this verse: who you are and what you do.
1. Who You Are: a Masterpiece
You are here because God created you. Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are God’s “workmanship,” which is rendered in other translations as “masterpiece” (NLT), “handiwork” (NAB) and “work of art” (NJB). A masterpiece is one-of-a-kind, often the culmination of a virtuoso’s life’s work. Handiwork is a product of a painstaking creative process. A work of art is custom-designed and tailor-made by a Master’s hand.
That means each person is the product of God’s handiwork, created with a unique spiritual DNA, in a one-of-a-kind combination of personality, spiritual gifts, passions, and story.
Further, the Greek word for “workmanship” is poiema, from which we get our English word poem. Like a poem, each person reflects form, pattern, and meaning – often intertwined with complexity.
No one else has your particular mixture of abilities and experiences. Not only were you created by God in a very unique way, but the depth of who you are is custom-designed for events that God has prepared for you. In other words, God has stacked the deck, creating you specifically to undertake certain tasks.
2. What You Do: Good Stuff
You are here because God has tasks for you to do. Ephesians 2:10 says we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.”
You have an assignment: to do the work God prepared for you to accomplish in this time and in the place where you are set. Your calling connects you to the needs of this generation, the community in which you work, the neighborhood where you live … and even the community you’re called to go.
God could have chosen to drop you anywhere or at any time in history. But He chose here and now.
The Invitation to Living With Personal Significance
God yearns for people to find and fulfill their purpose. Look back over the generations, and you’ll see how God’s story weaves its way through human history, revealing redemption as He rescues people for Himself. An individual’s story intertwines with her generation’s story which is knit into God’s story.
But God, the consummate gentleman, never forces Himself on people. Instead, He extends an invitation: “Would you like to walk this way?” (Ephesians 2:10). Or put another way, “Would you like to accept your task as I weave My story in this generation?”
Why are you here? You’re God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. How you respond is up to you.
Your Place In God’s Story: Read the rest of the series
Your Place In God’s Story, Part 1: Is This As Good As It Gets?
Your Place in God’s Story, Part 3: What Should I Do?
Your Place in God’s Story, Part 4: What Difference Will It Make?