As we endeavor to be godly men, we must constantly seek to understand the character of God more fully. It is his character that determines his interaction with us. But the process is more involved than reading the Bible and evaluating what God does. This is a great place to put time and energy, but it must always lead to this question; “So what!”
The answer to so what leads us to an action plan. The action plan must always lead us to the purpose God has in mind for our lives. This purpose can be determined by understanding God more fully. It is an ongoing cycle of discovery and application.
Uncovering our purpose seems to be a dominant theme in this life. This is not only true of men desiring to become more like Christ but is a focus of people in all areas of life. I have good news for you, I can answer this question of why each of us exists on this earth in this one short post. In fact, I can answer it in one sentence. God created us because he wants to have a close relationship with us.
We learn this by going back to the very beginning. In Genesis 1:1-25, God spends the bulk of his creative time on the details of the universe, including the creation of the earth with all its plants, animals, minerals, etc. His purpose in assuring everything was just right in creation was because he desired it to be a perfect location in which we could exist. After each day of creation, God looked back on his work and declared it to be good. Once all was exactly right, he created man.
But our creation was different. We were created in the image of God. This is not referring to our physical characteristics, but to the essence of who we are. We have an eternal soul. We have emotions and the ability to reason. We have a freewill which allows us to use our intellect to make right decisions. We are unique among all creation, the only ones created in the image of God. When God looked at the handiwork of his creation that he called man, he declared it to be VERY GOOD!
We discover from his decision to set us apart from the rest of creation that he has a special purpose for us. This purpose is revealed in the understanding that he made us enough like himself that we could relate to him unlike anything else he created. He created us for relationship. God created us for intimacy with him. I know this is a scary word for some men, but in this context it is right. He wants us to know him and be known by him.
Satan understood God’s purpose and brought sin to Adam and Eve, knowing this was the only way the relational intimacy between God and man could be fractured. This broke God’s heart, but it didn’t stop him from doing all he could to assure our relationship could continue. He was so committed to this, he sent his sinless, eternal Son to sacrifice his life to pay the penalty for my sin. This shows the depth of the heart of God; the strength of his desire for us to share our lives with him.
When this principle becomes foundational in our thinking, it impacts everything else we do. Since God has paid so much and worked so hard to make our relationship a possibility, doesn’t it seem important that we put some time and energy into it from our side?
My highest priority in this life is to pursue my relationship with God with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. Everything else I do should be to lead to that goal.