Westside Church of Christ

Why am I here? The question is not a geographical one concerned about the reason that I live at my present address but a spiritual one. Purpose is found beyond the confines of the visible. We will wander without focus from one unworthy objective to another until we discover that basic principle. I need to realize my reason for being.

Let us rewind for a moment to the very beginning, not our individual starts but the roots of all creation. God said, “Let us make humans in our image…(Genesis 1:1).” The mastermind behind all that exists, both visible and invisible, is the Lord. We are not the product of a random series of evolutionary accidents. The Lord made people, and here we are. Surely, He did it for a purpose.

There is something within every individual that is God-like. It cannot be a physical likeness because He is spirit. We cannot see or touch Him. He has no body. The image of our Creator must refer to something else. While the details of exactly what this means are beyond our understanding, there is something extremely noble in every person that we meet including the one we see in the mirror. Maybe that offers a hint about our purpose.

The image within has been tarnished. It’s still there hidden beneath the grime and distortions of the sins which we have all committed (Romans 3:23). We have fallen short of His glory. The first step toward recapturing our sense of purpose is to remember our identity. We take a step closer to realizing why we are here when we remember who we are. We are God’s handcrafted creation.

The altering effects of sin need to be removed. We must deal with that before we can advance, and the word of God has explained the process by which that is done. We cannot do it ourselves, but we can cooperate with His magnificent strategy to refurbish the damaged image. It involves entrusting ourselves unconditionally to Him. The Lord created us to begin with, and only He can recreate us. The greatest possible news is that He will.

The Son of God came to enable the impossible. There is no alternative to accomplish what must be done. It demands being made new, and no human plan can do that. Modern medicine cannot. Hours at the gym will not. No one can dodge the damage or self-medicate a solution. Purpose will remain forever elusive until the sin problem is resolved.

All things have been created by and for the Lord (Colossians 3:16). There is our purpose. We exist because He made us for His reason. If we reject that, what is left? People often get away to “find themselves.” They are looking in the wrong place. The word of God is where we need to search for our meaning. We are His, born again for His purposes.

Call to Praise: Isaiah 45:20-25

His word on it: Isaiah 45:18

Sermon: “Accept No Substitute”