Soul Mission: Determine Your Purpose for Living预览

People often ask the question: Why did God create humans and then leave them on the earth? Let me put that question straightforwardly and personally: Why are you still left here? Or crudely: Why haven’t you died yet?

It is a pivotal question for life, reflection, and activity. It is a question about

• purpose,
• meaning,
• direction,
• affirmation,
• justification, and
• commission

and is really a question that determines your mission.

As we discussed yesterday, Psalm 8 helps you discover the “ground-floor” purpose of life or your general mission.

Contrasted with the rest of God’s creation, human beings are most important (Ps. 8:5–8). Humanity is most important by rank, recognition, and responsibility. Man is spoken of as a “made” creature. He is not the chance offspring of a random mutation in the biological sphere. Since man is a made creature, he is not God. He is different from deity. He is not a part of God. He comes from the hand of God. Since man is made, he should never be worshipped.

If God is Number One in the universe, who is now Number Two? Human beings. Yet throughout biblical history, Number Two attempts to usurp Number One. That happened in Lucifer’s story. It happened in the human story. It also happens in my own story. The problem is that there is and can be only one Number One, or else the Number One rank will be unintelligible. The human race has been endowed with Number Two status. So act your rank. Salute Number One—God. Rule over Number Three—creation.

The human race is important by divine recognition. In a stunning development, we discover that the One who gives us being also gives us place and prestige. Psalm 8:5 reads, “and crowned him with glory and honor.” Unlike animals, man has been crowned. God has shared His glory and honor with man.

Does your life reflect this truth?