Why Did God Create Us?

The youth had a great question a couple of weeks ago for our Stump the Geezer Wednesday night Bible study: "Why did God create us?" Of all the questions that have been pondered over the millennia of human history, this is perhaps the most-discussed, most-contemplated question of all (or it's companion question, "Why are we here?"). Some of the greatest creeds of the Christian faith address this very question. It is perhaps the least-answerable question for atheists.

Rather than spoon-feed some ideas, we pondered several other questions first.

1. How did God make man different than the animals? The purpose of mankind should be discernible from the uniqueness of mankind, so if we can figure out how we're different than the animals, perhaps we can see how we're different.
   
   The first obvious answer is that we have souls. But animals are "soulish" animals - they have a non-physical aspect to their existence. The clearer idea would be to say that we have spirits, which is unique.
   
   But the statement of Scripture that makes man unique is that we are made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-28). That's what distinguishes us from the animals. We bear God's image - no animal does. This is more than having a mind, will, and emotions (because animals share those traits). The image of God means that bear a resemblance to Him in a way that allows us to relate to Him in a unique way. Animals cannot worship God, sing praises to God, seek after God, or enter into a relationship with God. We can - because of the image of God.
   
   Our purpose has something to do with bearing His image.
   
   
2. How does the penalty of sin drive us away from our purpose? Understanding this question could well clarify what our purpose is.
   
   When Adam and Eve sinned, they damaged the image of God that they bore. They didn't destroy it - it was still there. But it was badly vandalized, and it became much harder to recognize. That image is key to our relationship with God, and so damaging that image necessarily damages our relationship with Him. The less we bear His image, the less we can relate to Him.
   
   When God punished Adam and Eve for their sin, He banished them from the Garden of Eden, that space where they freely interacted with God. Their punishment was to have less access to God, less relationship with God.
   
   The way that God responded to sin gives us another clue as to what our purpose is.

Over the next few blog postings, we'll explore four more questions that relate to discovering our purpose.