Why Am I Here?

God created humanity, and you, for a reason.

God created you with a purpose...

What is the purpose of life? It is to glorify God. God created us for His own Glory. Talking about mankind in the book of Isaiah, God says about us, "whom I created for my glory" - Isaiah 43:7

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 we read, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

God is sovereign, meaning that He is completely independent. He did not need to create us. He does not need us for anything. Based on this we might come to the conclusion that we are not important to God... that we are not needed and we have no purpose. But, that's not the end of the story. God tells us in Scripture that we were created to glorify Him. That's our purpose and that means we are important to Him personally.

We were created to glorify God...

"I will praise you, O Lord my God,
with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever."
- Psalm 86:12

What does it mean to glorify God? How do we glorify God? It means to bring Him honor through what we say, how we act, and how we think. To glorify God means to acknowledge His glory and to value it above all things. To glorify God means we make it known to others. To glorify God means we have a heartfelt gratitude. We glorify God through our faith (trust). We glorify God through our love. We glorify God through our desire to obey Him (our obedience). We glorify God through our desire to know Him.

Emailed Questions we've received about this:

Is glorifying God really our purpose? We received an email comment asking a very important question. A question I hope you might be asking. To love is the greatest commanment, so isn't that our purpose also? Click on the above link to read the email and our answer. A second email, from another person, raised more questions about glorifying God and why we are here.

We were created to enjoy God...

We were created to enjoy God forever and delight in knowing God. The Bible says that we were also created to be filled with joy. Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." - John 10:10

Psalm 16:11 tells us, "In your [God's] presence there is fulness of joy, in Your [God's] right hand are pleasures for evermore."

“In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.” - C.S. Lewis

And God rejoices in us...

God also rejoices over us. Isaiah 62:5 says, "so shall your God rejoice over you."

A prophecy in Zephaniah tells us that God "will rejoice over you with gladness, He will renew you in His love; He will exalt over you with loud singing as on a day of festival." - Zephaniah 3:17-18

"We are cruel to ourselves. We try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and Who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. In this way you can waste your life and lose your soul.” - J.I. Packer (Knowing God)

Next question: What happens when I die?

Tap this link to learn: How to choose Jesus