Pauline Baptist Church

Why do I exist?

 

 

If you are reading this, then you are a representative of the human dimension

 

and you wrestle, as we all do, with the great questions of life. What in the

 

world is life all about anyway? What are we doing spinning around on this

 

planet at almost 1,100 miles per hour, tilted at a 23 degree axis? Why aren’t

 

we flying off into the universe? What force is keeping the members of this

 

global village earthbound? Is gravity really all there is to believe in?

 

Certainly, all of us have asked ourselves these questions. Most of the human

 

race are card-carrying members of the “Search for the Meaning of Life

 

Club.” Pondering the questions of the human dilemma and struggling for the

 

right answers in a world that seems bent on hiding the truth about the here,

 

the now, and the hereafter seem common to us all.

 

The fact is, many do not know why they are here and what they are here

 

for. They are living a meaningless life, simply existing. What a sad way to

 

live! There is more to live for than simply satisfying the physical and even

 

intellectual needs of the body and mind.

 

The God Who created you fully expects you to live your life for a higher

 

purpose than just pleasing yourself. He wants you to glorify Him. The Bible

 

says these words, “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God,

 

even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:6).

 

You are so important to God that He invites you to have a personal relationship

 

with Him. The Bible tells us that God has a wonderful purpose for

 

each and every life. That purpose begins with experiencing God’s love—and

 

at that moment—being made into the image of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

 

Here is how the Bible says it, “And we know that all things work together

 

for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his

 

purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed

 

to the image of his Son…” (Romans 8:28-29). You and I were created

 

to bear the image of Jesus Christ and to make the truth of God known to

 

all men.

 

When Jesus was on the earth, He called His disciples to become a part of an

 

incredible mission. That mission was finding men whose lives had no meaning—

 

men who were cut off from God through sin—and restoring them to a

 

loving relationship with their Creator. You have a reason to exist—a wonderful

 

cosmic purpose for life—and you can achieve direction in life by connecting

 

with Jesus Christ. He will give you a reason to exist—a significant

 

purpose for living.

 

 

Is There A God?

 

 

God is where He has always been and He is doing what He has always

 

done. He is looking for you. God has been trying to connect with you

 

long before you pondered the question of His existence. The truth is,

 

you have been experiencing the negative consequences of alienation

 

from God all your life. Every person who exists outside of a personal

 

relationship with Jesus Christ is suffering from the absence of God

 

syndrome, which displays itself in fear, guilt, and loneliness. Those who

 

have not experienced the forgiveness of God are doomed to wander

 

through time cut off from the vital life that only God can give.

 

Where is God? He is nearer to you than you can possibly imagine. You

 

and I are no different than Adam and Eve, who, after disobeying God

 

in the Garden of Eden, for the first time in their lives experienced fear,

 

guilt, and alienation from God. They ran and hid themselves from the

 

presence of the Lord (Genesis 3:1-13). God came looking for them, but

 

they were hiding in the trees, afraid to speak to Him. However, God

 

loved His creation and knew that something must be done if the fellowship

 

between them was to be restored. God looked for them; they

 

certainly were not looking for God. In the same way, God has been

 

searching for you all your life to love you and have a relationship with

 

you. The Bible teaches us that God is very near to each of us. In the

 

book of Acts it is recorded that He is “not far from every one of us:

 

For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:27-28).

 

What is God doing? He is extending His grace to every man who will

 

receive it through His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible records these words,

 

“being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord

 

Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). God is looking for people, like you, who

 

are seeking the meaning of life. He is willing to extend His love to you

 

for all of eternity if you will look to Him by faith and allow Him to

 

forgive you of your sin. The Bible says it this way, “But God

 

commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,

 

Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God does exist and He is pursuing

 

you. He loves you and desires for you to know Him and experience the

 

joy of His presence.

 

 

Am I Unique?

 

Not only do you have a reason for your life on this planet, but you also

 

are a very unique and valuable person. You are a precise individual,

 

tailor-made by the great Designer. You are God’s special creation.

 

Before you were formed in the womb, the Bible tells us that God was

 

already involved in the shaping of your life. Here is what the Bible

 

says, “thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee;

 

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made… Thine eyes did see my substance,

 

yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were

 

written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was

 

none of them” (Psalm 139:13-14, 16). God made you who you are.

 

You are not a product of some random evolutionary process. Think it

 

through—there are billions of people on this planet and you are the

 

only one with your fingerprints and DNA structure. Furthermore, if

 

the DNA strands from your body were stretched out in sequence, they

 

would reach to the sun and back (93 million miles) 400 times. You are

 

a complex, unique individual!

 

When Jesus Christ was on this earth 2,000 years ago, He prayed to

 

God the Father, “that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and

 

hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (John 17:23). The Son of God

 

wanted you to know that God the Father wants to love you just like

 

He loves His own Son. That’s amazing and it makes you very special.

 

 

 

 

 

Why Is Life So Unfair?

 

Life is full of trouble and there are days of heartache. That’s a fact.

 

Life is painful. For some people it seems as if each day is like being in

 

a torture chamber—it is agonizing. If we dwell on the injustices of life,

 

it will eventually lead us to bitterness. One of the reasons many of us

 

struggle with the question of “Why is life so unfair?” is because we do

 

not understand that this earth is not the land of the living, it is the

 

land of the dying. All around us there is disease, death, and sadness.

 

The Bible teaches us that we live on a planet that is suffering from the

 

after-effects of sin. When you understand this, it changes your perspective

 

about life and things begin to make sense. You realize that this life

 

is simply the proving ground that is preparing you for life in eternity.

 

Yes, life is short and unfair, yet the Bible tells us that God loves us and

 

wants to share His love with us for all of eternity. The Bible puts it this

 

way, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he

 

loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together

 

with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together,

 

and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the

 

ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his

 

kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7). If you put

 

your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, then what you have in this life is

 

not what you get. God has a wonderful plan to make all the injustices

 

you have experienced in this life right. In God’s eternal kingdom there

 

will be no more suffering and pain. You will experience life the way

 

God really intended it to be. The Bible records these words about the

 

end of all suffering, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

 

and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither

 

shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”

 

(Revelation 21:4). Life is brief, but eternity—endless time spent in

 

Heaven— will never end and there are no bad experiences there.

 

 

Why Do I Feel So Alone?

 

Making genuine friends is one of the real struggles of life. Why are

 

friends so fleeting? Why do I feel so alone most of the time? In

 

answer to that question, the Bible clearly states that God invites us

 

to become His friend through the sacrifice of His own Son. John’s

 

gospel says,“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay

 

down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I

 

command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant

 

knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for

 

all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto

 

you” (John 15:13-15).

 

God never intended for you to be lonely or isolated from others. Just

 

the opposite is true. God invites you to discover the end of all loneliness

 

in a personal relationship with Him. When you receive Jesus

 

Christ as your personal Savior, you become part of God’s family of

 

believers all over the world. He calls you into community with all

 

Christians. This community of genuine friendships is based on

 

respect, love and forgiveness—which is what our relationship with

 

God is based upon. God offers His all-encompassing love to all who

 

know Him as personal Savior and Lord. The Bible says, “And be ye

 

kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as

 

God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

 

Imagine being a personal friend of God. Maybe that seems impossible,

 

but I assure you it is not. You can become an intimate friend of the

 

God of the universe. It begins the day you find forgiveness of sin

 

through Jesus Christ. You don’t have to feel lonely; God wants to be

 

your friend.

 

 

 

 

Why don’t I do what I know I should?

 

If you are honest, you will admit that you have suffered personal

 

failures. If you say you haven’t, you are only fooling yourself. Every

 

human being does the wrong thing at times, even though he fully

 

intended to do the right thing. Why do you say things that hurt others

 

and do things that damage your credibility and integrity? The Bible

 

gives us clear guidance on this subject. You cannot do what you know

 

you should because you were born with a sin nature. The Bible says,

 

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by

 

sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”

 

(Romans 5:12). The sinful nature which you inherited is what qualifies

 

you as a member of the human race, but it also means you need a

 

Savior. Jesus Christ came to give you the ability to overcome your tendency

 

to sin.

 

When a person receives Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, he receives

 

a new nature. The Bible tells us, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding

 

great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers

 

of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the

 

world through lust” (II Peter 1:4). This new nature is God living in

 

you. The new nature is spiritual, but you still have your old nature,

 

which is fleshly: it still wants to do the wrong thing. However, now

 

you have a choice. You can choose to follow God’s way and experience

 

life and peace to its extreme fullest. The Bible puts it this way,

 

“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is

 

life and peace” (Romans 8:6).This does not mean that you will

 

become perfect. It does mean that after you receive Jesus Christ as

 

Savior, you have the God-given ability to do what is right. The

 

conflict is still there, but the divine nature of God is also there to

 

empower and guide you.

 

 

Is There Life After Death?

 

Where do people go when they die? Do they just cease to exist? Do humans

 

possess a soul that will live on forever? People like yourself wonder about these

 

questions every day. The truth is you are a living soul and God has devised a plan

 

whereby you can spend your eternity with Him in the life to come. This plan

 

involves your decision to believe in Jesus Christ with all of your heart and soul.

 

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he

 

were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never

 

die” (John 11:25-26). Jesus made it very clear that there are not numerous ways

 

to get to Heaven, but only one way—He is the way. The Bible records Jesus’

 

words this way, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the

 

Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

 

God is offering you eternal life. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world,

 

that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not

 

perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God loves you! In fact, He loves

 

you so much that His only Son, Jesus, died on a Roman cross to pay your sin

 

debt, was buried in a tomb for three days, and came to life again on the third day,

 

proving His power over death. Death no longer reigns because of Jesus Christ.

 

The Bible tells us that sin (disobedience to God’s will) has separated us from God

 

and condemned us to Hell. However, God offers eternal life to us as a free gift

 

through Jesus Christ. The Bible puts it this way, “the wages of sin is death; but

 

the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

 

Does this make sense to you? If it does, wouldn’t you like to receive Jesus Christ

 

as your personal Savior? If you are willing to put your faith in Jesus Christ and

 

receive Him as your own personal Lord and Savior, you need to pray. The Bible

 

says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”

 

(Romans 10:13).

 

Why not tell God right now in your own words that you are sorry for your sin

 

and that you believe Jesus Christ died for you and rose from the grave. Tell God

 

that you are receiving Him right now as your personal Savior. Tell Him you

 

accept His forgiveness from sin and by faith receive the eternal life He has provided

 

for you. Tell God you want Him to be your leader and the Lord of your life. Tell

 

Him that you are willing to surrender your life to Him and follow His leadership.

 

If you trust Christ as your Savior, death and sin will no longer reign and you will

 

live forever in heaven