Who? Why? And Where?

Good News – March 2014 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Who? Why? And Where?

A few years ago, when a certain Christian man reached the ripe old age of 100 years, he said that by his age a person must be able to provide the answers to the three vital questions above. I think he meant that the wisdom of old age would have us determine the answers to these questions well before then. Solomon went further and advised everyone to “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’” (Eccl. 12:1 NKJV ).

Here are the Bible’s answers to these important three questions:

Who Am I?
In Psalm 90:3, Moses tells us that each one of us is a human being, a child of Adam. Adam and Eve, our first parents, were specially created by God (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:21-23). But Adam rebelled against God: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all [people] sinned” (Rom. 5:12). The first step to getting out of this spiritually lost condition is to admit it and repent of it by personally saying, “Who am I? – I’m a sinner who needs God’s salvation.”

Why Am I Here?
We only ask this question because, being sinners, we are out of touch with God and therefore we do not know the real meaning of life. When Solomon diligently explored this subject he wrote: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil” (Eccl. 12:13-14).

We find out about real life when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He said: “I have come that they [you] may have life, and that they [you] may have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). Once saved, each Christian discovers why he is alive: “For we [believers] are His [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). In other words, believers are to live like the Lord Himself lived: “Who went about doing good ... for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).

Where Am I Going?
You might not have agreed with the answer the Bible gives about the first question because sin itself is the taboo [forbidden subject] of the world in the twenty-first century. And with the accompanying loss of hope in God, death itself has become a subject too fearful for many to discuss. Yet the fact is that everyone is going to die. When dying David said to his son Solomon, “I go the way of all the earth” (1 Ki. 2:2). Part of the gospel message is about being prepared for death: “And as it is appointed for man to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9:27-28). Yes, you can avoid the punishment of hell if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from your sins. But, even better, you can be sure that your destiny will be heaven! Where are you going? We can tell you more.

By David Anderson