As children of God, we are made with intention. Being made with intention indicates we exist for a reason. Now, that reason could be the pleasure God takes in creating us, as we feel when we create something. However, the Bible indicates we have a greater purpose. So what were we made for? What is our purpose?
I would say our purpose is to know God better, to spend time with Him through prayer and Bible study, and to worship in word and action. It is to share the gospel and live a life that reflects God. I may not be far off it, but let’s see what God’s Word says about our purpose.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30
Romans 8:28 is a well-known verse because it gives hope to those who are suffering. It’s a promise not meant for everyone but for those who are saved, one that feels personal and comforting to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
It promises that although we suffer, it is not permanent; God will work things for our good and His good. And He does so because we have purpose; He did not start a work in us to abandon it. God is the author of our lives from beginning to end, and He will be with us in every moment.
We are chosen for a reason, which means we have purpose; we know this from verse 28, the verse that everyone knows and loves, but equally important are verses 29 and 30. These verses state that yes, we are chosen, but those who are chosen are also called, justified, and glorified because God chose us to become more like Jesus.
To be called means we are invited by God to receive salvation. Through justification, we are made righteous in the eyes of God, and to be glorified is to be transformed to reflect God’s glory forever.
Our calling, justification and glory make us more like Jesus. This requires some effort on our part because, firstly, we must say yes to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and receive the salvation that our Father offers us through the Son. By Jesus’ grace and sacrifice on the cross, we are cleansed of our sins. The journey to purity, however, only begins at this stage. Sanctification – which is the process of becoming holy and more like God – will take the rest of our lives; we can only be fully clean once we are fully transformed, which will not happen on this earth. But even the transformation that takes place on this earth is a witness to the world; it sets us apart and brings glory to God.
God chose us and calls us because He wants to adopt us; He wants us to be His children because He loves us so much. This is part of our purpose; we exist because God loves us and wants us to exist.
Ultimately, what Romans 8:28-30 tells us is that our purpose is not just something we do – it’s who we become, and that is more like Jesus. But our purpose begins in responding to God’s call and allowing Him to shape who we will become.
So how do we respond to God’s call and allow Him to shape who we become?
When we first receive the call, or at least when we first acknowledge it and are ready to take that step of faith, we must turn from our sin (Acts 2:38). We must trust Jesus is our Saviour (John 3:16) and be willing to follow God’s Word (John 14:15).
From that point on, it takes three things: surrender, faith, and obedience. Surrender requires us to let go of any expectations we had for our lives and submit to God’s plan; therefore, we need faith to trust in God and believe His plan is for our good and for His glory. Finally, we need to be obedient and follow God’s ways. This way, we build a relationship with Him; through prayer and the Bible, we receive guidance on how to follow Him.
What did God create us for?
If we are to become more like Jesus, what did God create us for? What is the purpose of our existence other than becoming more like Jesus?
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15
Knowing that God created us because a) He wanted to and b) with intention. We can assume that we have more purpose than just being more like Jesus. This is true; we are created to fulfil a purpose. This purpose certainly includes being caretakers of the world; that is a role Genesis 2:15 explicitly states.
We are created to work and care for the earth, serving as caretakers to protect and nurture it. This is our original purpose, the one that God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, along with ruling over the animals (Genesis 1:26). This calling still holds true today, though the world has greatly changed since the Garden of Eden. It is certainly a reason why we exist.
Surely, this cannot be the only reason for our existence? Jesus did not come to die for us to just care for the world. Though there is nothing wrong with that, there is much more to our lives than nurturing growth in the ground and pruning.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
God created us to do His will, and this is stated multiple times throughout the Bible; Matthew 7:21 is one example, another is Matthew 6:10. To do God’s will is to be obedient to His desires, commands and plans, whether this is from the Bible or we feel it in our hearts (John 15:10).
What commands has God given us? What does He desire we do?
In Psalm 78:4, we are told to tell the next generation of God and His deeds. To go out and share the gospel truth. To be evangelists and teachers to our families, friends, and communities. He wants us not only to keep His commandments but to pass them down through the generations by teaching them to our children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
God wants us to trust in Him and submit to Him in every way (Proverbs 3:5-6). This means choosing God’s ways when we want to go a different path because we know His way is better. It’s trusting that He sees what we cannot and everything will work out because He says it will. Our decisions, our relationships, our plans all flow from having God at the centre.
As it says in Matthew 6:33, we are to seek His kingdom first. This means reading the Bible for guidance, obeying His commands and trusting Him wholeheartedly. It’s loving God and showing it by prioritising His ways above our own, by praying for His will to be done and recognising His sovereignty.
What else does God say we should do? To love others as He loves us (Mark 12:31, John 13:34). God is the epitome of love, and as His children, His creations, He wants us to love fully and generously as He does. He even tells us to love our enemies! (Matthew 5:44). God gave His only Son to die for our sins; He created an impeccably detailed world that, according to science, wouldn’t be habitable if it weren’t so exact. This is proof of how much He loves us, although it’s only a fraction of His love.
Galatians 5:16-25 tells us to walk in the Spirit. This means we are to be led by spiritual truth and not our desires (Romans 8:5-6). We are to spend time with God in prayer continually and receive His guidance (Ephesians 6:18, Colossians 4:2). It also means that we produce good fruit like joy and patience, which, in terms of a plant, is visibly healthy and nourished compared to a plant that appears wilted and surrounded by weeds. The term ‘Jesus glow’ exists for a reason: when we wholeheartedly walk with God in the Spirit and spend time with Him, do His will and become more like Jesus, it is visible to others by our actions and speech. Have you ever heard someone say there’s just something different about them? Most of the time, they’re sensing the presence of God.
“You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Exodus 19:6
So far, we know that we were created to be more like Jesus, to do His will and care for His creation, which includes each other. We are also to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).
But what exactly is holiness?
Holiness is to be set apart by God for Him (Leviticus 20:26). To be holy is to be obviously claimed by God in how we live. One way to do this is to flee from sin and worldly desires (1 Peter 2:11). We are not to live as the world lives, but let God transform our minds over time (Romans 12:2). Holiness is to be purified by God (Matthew 5:8) so we can better reflect Him; to be holy is to reflect His character.
God is loving, just, merciful, gracious, faithful, and patient (1 John 4:8, Deuteronomy 32:4, Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 103:8, Deuteronomy 7:9, 2 Peter 3:9). These are the things we should try to reflect in our lives.
It’s just been said that God is loving, and we are to love others as He loves us. We are also to love Him (Mark 12:30). We show love to God through worship, and loving others can be an act of worship because it reflects God’s heart. Worship isn’t only words we say but how we live, and loving people is one of the most tangible ways we love God.
We are also to serve God (1 Samuel 12:20). We do that by loving and obeying His commands, caring for His people, giving generously, serving selflessly, through continuous prayer and worship, and by sharing the gospel and using our gifts and talents for Him (1 Peter 4:10).
“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:7
What are we made for? To be more like Jesus, to do His will, to be holy and care for His creation and also to glorify Him. To bring God glory is to reflect His beauty, greatness, and love.
We do this by living a life that reflects His character (1 Corinthians 10:21). We cannot serve two masters; we either live for God, and as we do, we will naturally reflect more of His character, or we serve the things of the world, which will also show in our lives. Not that you should compare, but if you were to compare a Christian and someone who is not, in most cases, there is an obvious difference in how they live because they are driven by different motivators and find pleasure in different things.
In a similar way, the words we speak also glorify God. With words we worship and speak life and encouragement, we spread love and kindness (Psalm 100:2). When we use our words in this way to build up and do good, we do reflect God’s character and bring Him glory. But it is just as easy to use words to tear down and destroy, to curse and be negative; this does not glorify God. So how we think, act and speak says a lot about who we are and who we reflect. One is a clear reflection of God, and that’s what He wants us to be.
God wants us to glorify Him by being witnesses of His love on the earth. He wants us to go out and share the gospel, to be living examples of His grace and testify to the truth we have experienced. But He also wants us to serve, to be out in the community as well as serving in different countries (Matthew 28:19-20). It’s important to God that we do this; Jesus himself said that our greatest command is to love (John 15:12-13), to love as He did, even as far as laying down our lives for each other.
Our greatest witness to God that brings Him glory is our obedience (John 15:10). We can do everything else, but when we are obedient to God in everything, we know our hearts are in the right place. It’s from obedience that the rest flows: our faith in action, our love for God, and our witness to others.
I appreciate that this is a long post, and I may have lost some readers by now, so let me know in the comments if you’ve reached this point.
Let’s recap what we know so far. We exist because God loves us and wants us to exist. He created us to do His will and bring Him glory, to care for His creation and to become more like Jesus. This is our purpose, and it ultimately stems from love and obedience.
Living out our purpose practically
Now that we know what our purpose is, how do we put it into practice? How do we take this knowledge and transfer it into reality?
We begin by following the example God gave us in Jesus (Ephesians 5:1). In Mark 1, we read of Jesus getting up early to spend time with His Father alone in prayer (Mark 1:35). We can follow Jesus’ example and spend time with God each day through prayer and by reading and meditating on scripture (Joshua 1:8). Like Jesus we can worship God in word and action (Matthew 4:10) by sharing the gospel as witnesses of the truth and God’s power (Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8); speaking of the need to repent for the forgiveness of sins and teaching how the Bible is really the story of Jesus from beginning to end.
Just as Jesus lived in community and placed importance on fellowship and gathering together with other believers, so should we. Hebrews 10:25 emphasises that we are not to give up meeting together and encouraging each other, but that we should increase doing this as the day of judgement approaches.
Like Jesus, we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). This means we are to give God control of our bodies, our lives, everything. We are to let go of our plans and choose His way even when it’s hard. We must be fully surrendered and obedient, letting our faith and trust in God be more important to us than our desires. We must always respond to His call with a yes; God’s will is the priority, and we must do it.
We are to serve freely, give generously, and use our gifts and talents for the good of others as Jesus would.
We must let ourselves be taught so we can learn and grow for our own good and the benefit of others (Hebrews 5:12-14). We also need to let the Holy Spirit shape our reactions, attitudes and choices so that we can let others see God’s character in us (Luke 6:36, Leviticus 19:2, 1 John 4:8, Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 103:8, 2 Peter 3:9, Deuteronomy 7:9). We must choose purity and resist sin, fleeing from temptation to live the holy and set-apart life He has called us to.
We glorify God through our lives and words. Our words and actions should point to Him, our obedience should be our witness, and we ought to choose encouragement over criticism. God created us to love this world and the people in it, to bear witness to the truth of Jesus and lead others to salvation with it. We are made to obey and reflect our Heavenly Father and the Son who died for us and rose again so we can join them in Heaven. Our purpose is to bring glory to God, our Creator, through all this and become more like Jesus.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength… Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
Our purpose is not complicated – it is to reflect Jesus in all we do and become more like Him. May our lives be a witness that leads others to Him and glorifies God. Let us live with intention, with love, and with a faith that points the world to Jesus.
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