Anyone who knows me knows that I love to ask questions, but there is one word in particular I like to use that poses as a question all by itself: why?
I wouldn't say that I am someone who does a lot of intentional sitting and thinking, but I know that my mind is always filled with questions, so I thought it might be useful to take some time to jot down some significant Q&As that I have had over the past 22 years of my life.
I'll start with some whoppers (or Big Macs...depending on your personal preference):
1. Why am I here?
Honestly, for the longest time I didn't know the answer to that question. I mean, I knew I was here for a reason, some purpose, but I just didn't know. I thought maybe I was supposed to grow up to be just like my Mom (which I would love because my Mom is awesome!), or maybe I'm just supposed to do whatever it takes to be happy, or perhaps I am supposed to just take what life throws at me, leaping into every available opportunity and see what happens.
But God has shown me the meaning of purpose: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well...in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." - Psalm 139:14-16 God has always had a plan for my life, from before I was born until the end of eternity. "For we are his workmanship, created in Jesus Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10 He gives me purpose. "The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble." - Proverbs 16:4 He gives everything and everyone purpose. "'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." - Revelation 4:11 We are created for the glory of God and to worship him alone. Everything in my life should be based on that fact. That's why I am here.
2. Why should I obey God?
This is a tricky one to answer from the human perspective because we are all inherently naturally wired to want to have complete control over our own lives. I know that I need to answer this question for myself on a daily basis because it's so easy to forget and just do what I want because I want to. Human nature often gets the better of me but here's what's important to know: "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?...For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:16,23 So one main reason I choose to obey God, or be a slave of obedience as the verse reads, is because I want to be righteous and gain eternal life rather than be a slave to sin which leads to death. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." - John 3:36 "He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury." - Romans 2:6-8 Well I don't know about anyone else, but I choose life! "The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honour and life." - Proverbs 22:4 There are other perks for choosing to obey or fear God, this is but one of countless examples in Scripture. "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matthew 10:28 I know that I am often too concerned with pleasing the human race because I'm afraid of being an outcast, I'm afraid of offending others, I'm afraid of failing in front of people...and the list goes on from there but Jesus calls me to fear God and not to worry about what other people think. If I am living in obedience to him alone, opinions of the human race shouldn't matter because I can trust in God's perfect truth to tell me what is right.
3. Why is it so hard to follow Jesus?
The simple answer to this is because we are only human and Jesus is God. But the Bible sheds some light on this as well. "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 As a follower of Christ, Jesus speaks to me in this verse. He encourages us that, despite the fact that we will have tribulation or trouble in the world, he has overcome it and offers us peace in the midst of the hard times. "Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." - 1 John 2:4-6 Just reading that passage makes being a follower of Christ seem impossible because no human being can possibly obey the entire Bible! The standard that God has for those who claim to believe in him is unreachable. But it is that way for a reason. "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - 2 Peter 1:3-4 So in the midst of our sinfulness, God saves us. We cannot be perfect and holy in order to meet the standards of God but he promises to provide everything we need to get to heaven. The struggle is in trusting him to provide as we press on in faith. "But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." - 1 Timothy 6:6-10 One of the biggest issues in our world is with money. Everyone needs money for survival but we often find ourselves wanting more than we need. It is true that the richest people in the world are far from happy. We think we know what will make us happy, but God knows that we are happiest when we are most satisfied in him. This is but one of the many examples of human struggle mentioned in Scripture. In summary, it's hard to follow Jesus because everything we are naturally is in contrast to what God wants us to be and we have to fight against ourselves to follow Christ.
I wouldn't say that I am someone who does a lot of intentional sitting and thinking, but I know that my mind is always filled with questions, so I thought it might be useful to take some time to jot down some significant Q&As that I have had over the past 22 years of my life.
I'll start with some whoppers (or Big Macs...depending on your personal preference):
1. Why am I here?
Honestly, for the longest time I didn't know the answer to that question. I mean, I knew I was here for a reason, some purpose, but I just didn't know. I thought maybe I was supposed to grow up to be just like my Mom (which I would love because my Mom is awesome!), or maybe I'm just supposed to do whatever it takes to be happy, or perhaps I am supposed to just take what life throws at me, leaping into every available opportunity and see what happens.
But God has shown me the meaning of purpose: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well...in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." - Psalm 139:14-16 God has always had a plan for my life, from before I was born until the end of eternity. "For we are his workmanship, created in Jesus Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10 He gives me purpose. "The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble." - Proverbs 16:4 He gives everything and everyone purpose. "'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." - Revelation 4:11 We are created for the glory of God and to worship him alone. Everything in my life should be based on that fact. That's why I am here.
2. Why should I obey God?
This is a tricky one to answer from the human perspective because we are all inherently naturally wired to want to have complete control over our own lives. I know that I need to answer this question for myself on a daily basis because it's so easy to forget and just do what I want because I want to. Human nature often gets the better of me but here's what's important to know: "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?...For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:16,23 So one main reason I choose to obey God, or be a slave of obedience as the verse reads, is because I want to be righteous and gain eternal life rather than be a slave to sin which leads to death. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." - John 3:36 "He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury." - Romans 2:6-8 Well I don't know about anyone else, but I choose life! "The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honour and life." - Proverbs 22:4 There are other perks for choosing to obey or fear God, this is but one of countless examples in Scripture. "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matthew 10:28 I know that I am often too concerned with pleasing the human race because I'm afraid of being an outcast, I'm afraid of offending others, I'm afraid of failing in front of people...and the list goes on from there but Jesus calls me to fear God and not to worry about what other people think. If I am living in obedience to him alone, opinions of the human race shouldn't matter because I can trust in God's perfect truth to tell me what is right.
3. Why is it so hard to follow Jesus?
The simple answer to this is because we are only human and Jesus is God. But the Bible sheds some light on this as well. "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 As a follower of Christ, Jesus speaks to me in this verse. He encourages us that, despite the fact that we will have tribulation or trouble in the world, he has overcome it and offers us peace in the midst of the hard times. "Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." - 1 John 2:4-6 Just reading that passage makes being a follower of Christ seem impossible because no human being can possibly obey the entire Bible! The standard that God has for those who claim to believe in him is unreachable. But it is that way for a reason. "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - 2 Peter 1:3-4 So in the midst of our sinfulness, God saves us. We cannot be perfect and holy in order to meet the standards of God but he promises to provide everything we need to get to heaven. The struggle is in trusting him to provide as we press on in faith. "But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." - 1 Timothy 6:6-10 One of the biggest issues in our world is with money. Everyone needs money for survival but we often find ourselves wanting more than we need. It is true that the richest people in the world are far from happy. We think we know what will make us happy, but God knows that we are happiest when we are most satisfied in him. This is but one of the many examples of human struggle mentioned in Scripture. In summary, it's hard to follow Jesus because everything we are naturally is in contrast to what God wants us to be and we have to fight against ourselves to follow Christ.
