Atheists, of course, believe that there is no reason for us to exist. Like the rest of the world, we are accidents of nature. How we live and what we do with our lives ultimately doesn’t matter.
Among theists - people who believe in some god – there are two different answers to this important question.
World Religions present different views of what God is like, why He created us, and how we are to live. For instance, some religions teach that God is a person; other teach that God is an impersonal Life Force. But all world religions agree that we are here to work for our salvation. One religion says that we must follow the Four Noble Truths, another the Five Pillars, still another the Ten Commandments. Though the laws and traditions of each religion differ, each one teaches that we must work hard in this life to earn’s God’s favor and escape judgment in the life to come.
Christianity teaches that God is a person who created us to live in friendship with Him. We are not here to work for His approval, but to accept it as a gift, enjoying His love and participating in His plans.
But the Bible teaches that we cannot enter into friendship with God through our own efforts, however hard we might try. Our “sin” blocks the way. Because we know right from wrong, our decisions to do wrong things are a rejection of God, who placed His law in our hearts. Our guilt reminds us that we have broken God’s law, but we are unable to stop.
Like our own system of law, God’s law says that there must be a penalty when the law is broken. The penalty for rejecting God is death. But God loves us and does not want us to die. So He sent His own Son to Earth to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus, who never broke God’s law, paid the penalty of death for us.
Now, men and women who admit their wrongdoing and ask forgiveness can receive – as a gift – peace and friendship with God that will never come to an end.
Decision:
Do you believe that there is a reason or purpose for your life? If you believe that there is a God who created the world and every living thing, do you think that He knows you personally and has a loving plan for your life?
