Why are we here?

I’m sure this is a question you have asked before. Why were people created? What was the purpose?

Now, I firmly believe that we each have our own purpose to fulfill. But that is separate from what people as a whole were made for.

This is a question I was asked to answer in high school. In the eyes of the religious school I attended, I was sure that I was supposed to answer in terms of our duty to God and I knew the answer to the catechism question, “What is the chief end of man?” to which the response is, “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

But what about those who weren’t Christians? Could they achieve the same purpose as their fellow mankind who were?

In high school, I had written something to meet the requirement, and I don’t even remember what, because I know it wasn’t the full and complete answer. It has bothered me for years and I’ve returned to this question time and again.

One of the reasons I struggle with it is because we could just as easily accomplish this in a heavenly state. Yet we have been bound to this Earth and all of creation.

I believe the answer lies in how we relate to the rest of the created world. It was created alongside us and we as the ultimate creation in it. Everything else was formed as the canvas background and scenery by the master artist, who chose to put us in as the final work.

It has been said that you can only fully know an artist by his creation. Exterior appearance is just a shell, with carefully selected words that dictate how we choose to relate to others. What it takes to create a work of art is to bring pieces of yourself that otherwise stay hidden from view and put them on public display. We reveal who we are in bits and pieces. Authors, painters, poets, sculptors, the list goes on. That creative spark that was first inside them comes into view and displayed to the world for it to experience.

In this way, we can view all of creation. It has been made for us to experience and as we do so, we experience the master Creator. Who could not enjoy forever the wonders of the world? All its formations and plants and animals. The sunrises and the snowfalls, each different from any before. It’s more than that, though – it’s the laughs with friends and the memories of love and the feel of excitement on a holiday morning. We get to experience all of that and as we do, we enjoy a part of the mind of our Creator.

So whoever you are and whatever you believe, you have been created in a pretty amazing place. I hope that you will join me in being grateful for every experience and I hope that you stand in awe at the beauty of knowing you were made with a purpose in this amazing world. Enjoy it!