Why Are We Here?
I’ve been speaking, over the past several months, about becoming conscious to the fact that we are not in this existence, on our own. I’ve been wanting to share with you my “awareness” that my friend, my father, God, is always within my grasp and yours, at any moment, during any day… when I need him and when I don’t. And, I know that those of us gathered here in this chapel believe this certainty, it’s why we come together for fellowship week after week to thank Him, and to give praise to Him. But, why are we here?
And, by that, I don’t mean here in the chapel, right now, rather, why in this space and time..?
Why in this world..?
Yes, this is a question that men have deliberated over… religious men… scientific men…
Experiments have been done, journeys have been taken, books have been written, think-tanks and consortiums have been assembled, arguments have been made and disproven, but even further than that, wars have been fought and lives have been lost over the particulars of some of the argument.
So, Why are we here..?
We are created for His pleasure. From the first page of Scripture to the last, that message is clear. We are created for His pleasure. Further, the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16:
“For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him.”
If we accept that all this is true, and that any other answer is both illogical and devoid of hope, then the next question to ask is - what do we do about it? Or, more to the point, what do you and I do about it?
If we accept that all this is true, and that any other answer is both illogical and devoid of hope, then the next question to ask is - what do we do about it? Or, more to the point, what do you and I do about it?
So, Why Am I Here?
Understanding that we exist to please God, the challenge becomes personal. What do I do about it? How can I, one person, possibly please such a big, huge, infinite God? The Bible gives us those answers too. For now, we can rest in this truth – none, not one of us, is here by accident.
We were planned and wanted by our Heavenly Father from before the beginning of time. Just look at Psalm 139.
Psalm 139
1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
I want to take a few minutes and look at a bit of a documentary:
So, I think that’s a bit too much over-evaluation…
I’ve been seeing a certain phrase an awful lot lately… actually, a single word really…
I’ve seen it on T-shirts, on welcome mats, on billboards, in commercials, on bumper stickers, and I think it resonated with me the first time I noticed it, causing me to see it everywhere I looked… I think some might refer to this type of event as Divine Intervention. I like to think that He and I were having a conversation and at that point I was thinking about what I wanted to say and wasn’t paying as much attention as I should’ve been…
The phrase or rather, the word is SIMPLFY…
I believe this is how we need to approach the question, “Why are we here?”
And, I think the answer is just that, simple…
We are here for each other…
He is here for us and we are here for each other…
Every December 25th is an annual event we have that celebrates His choice to come to us in order to show us how to exist for one another. He came and led by example and gave us a message of love and understanding that we might go forth and do the same.
Yes, you go to the store and on the way there, some nincompoop decides, without cluing anyone else in, that he or she NEEDS to be directly in front of you in that instant AND that that lane (the fast lane) should really only be traveling at 50mph and not 70mph, like it was a minute ago. Having held your tongue, your hand (and all your fingers) back, you arrive at the store and find the parking lot packed and at every turn there’s someone just pulling into a spot right before you can. So, you park ¼ of a mile away and make your trek into the store only to find all the usual “positive” stimuli; the long lines at Starbucks, the Deli, the bakery, the Seafood Dept. and the registers.
You arrive at the office early to get your favorite parking spot but, of course, there’s an “earlier bird” that got that worm. You go inside and there’s a new pile of “Job Security” on your desk which, of course, you busted tail to clear away the evening before. Then you look down the hallway to the office that should’ve been yours were it not for the current occupant who took a handful of your ideas and passed them off as their own.
You walk into your home and find it “less full” than it was when you left in the morning and there’s a note on the counter explaining why. The silence is deafening.
You get laid-off and, as hard as you work at fixing that situation, things start getting “turned off”.
Yes, disasters do occur in our lives and others can be hard to understand, let alone, accept or even further, love, but these are man-made disasters that he is always prepared to help with, if we let him and, we are talking about our brothers and sisters. No matter what poor decisions they choose to make, as hard as it might be, we are supposed to have their backs, unconditionally.
And, when we fall short of that, we have to ask his forgiveness and for strength to put our best foot forward the next time and every time it is needed.
This is why, as physically demanding as Kettles tends to be, it is my favorite time of year, as well as, my favorite project to be a part of. Officers and kettle folk from other corps look at me like I’ve got a third eye on my forehead when I say that but, I get to interact with some of the most caring and selfless people one could meet. I also get to interact with some of those who benefit from the programs and I get to experience their overwhelming gratitude.
I want to end this short conversation with a few words by some writers that I enjoy…
First, in reference to “The Answer” to “The Question”…
“Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Why are we here and where do we go
And how come it's so hard
It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing
It's always better when we're together.” ~Jack Johnson
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Why are we here and where do we go
And how come it's so hard
It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing
It's always better when we're together.” ~Jack Johnson
Second, in reference to How do I “Be There” for others…
“I've learned that people will forget what you’ve said and that people will forget what you’ve done, but people will never forget how you’ve made them feel.” ~Maya Angelou
Third, to answer just how easy life can be…
“Life is like playing a violin, in public, while learning the instrument as you go.” ~Samuel Butler
Amen..?
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