Do you ever wonder why you are here? What is your real reason for living? Does your individual life matter in the whole scheme of things? If you believe in God, perhaps you’ve pondered something like, “What was God thinking when he made me?”
These are natural questions. While we can’t expect Scripture to tell us precisely what God was thinking, it does provide insight on why He created us. We see that God had a very intentional plan.
Created as Beloved Children
Chapter 1 of Genesis gives us an outline of the progressions God used to create the material universe, the earth, and mankind. As with all overviews, very few details are provided. While Scripture does not tell us God’s specific thoughts, we certainly see that His deliberate plan included six creative processes.
Humankind – you and me – is first mentioned in the sixth creative period where God said He would create and make ‘them’ male and female. Even with limited details, the stated goal is clear: man and woman are created to live and mature as children, “in the image and likeness” of God (a). [see end notes for all Scriptures]
God, was thinking of you and me before we came into existence!
Can we grasp the magnitude of this amazing truth? God, was thinking of you and me before we came into existence! He has created us to be expressions that convey aspects of His incredible nature; ‘reflections and resemblances’ of His character, attitude and personality. Each person is born into life as an offspring of God (b).
At the end of the sixth process, Scripture says; God saw all He had made…it was very good (c). Then; Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (d). Again, little detail.
Assistants to God
Then the Genesis account leaves the overview to provide important detail regarding the most significant reason for the natural creation, mankind. We are told, to create the first one, God formed a body from the dust of the earth. Next, He breathed/infused His Spirit into the body and a soul began to live (e).
While the first created body was mature and the spirit in him was pure, the soul’s conscious awareness was clearly a young and immature image and likeness (reflection and resemblance) of our heavenly Father.
After creating the first man, God states “The one is not good” (f). He then proceeded, as planned, to create the first female with a unique body and harmonizing personality (g). Now, ‘they’ were equipped to begin fulfilling the mandate given in the first chapter; “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth” (h).
You and I were designed to assist God in birthing, growing and maturing His family.
Yes, Adam and Eve were designed, thus you and I as well, to assist God in birthing, growing and maturing His ever growing family. The ‘hosts’ noted in the sixth creative period are still being birthed into existence.
Sensing God’s Presence
Everyone born into this life is an offspring of God and of the earth (b). Thus each living person is a blend of two realities. As our body enables us to interact with all things natural, our spirit enables us to interact with spiritual realities (i).
As our loving heavenly Father, God is always thinking of His children; desiring to communicate with each of us. How can this happen? Believe it or not, we are all designed and equipped to sense God’s guiding presence.
God desires to communicate with His children through our spiritual senses.
It can be helpful to understand the fuller value of our five senses. Our senses not only assist our interaction with natural life, they also equip us to interact with spiritual life. You may not realize how often Scripture speaks of the spiritual side of our five senses. Here are two examples: “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (j). “Because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (k).
Everyone who intentionally listens can sense God’s voice, and perceive where He is leading and guiding.
Highly Valued Child of God
What was God thinking when He thought of you? He conceived of a unique personality, unlike anyone else. God highly values you as His child and wants to parent you into a reflective resemblance of His heart. The degree that we reflect and resemble God depends a lot on the depths, heights, and quality of our interaction with Him.
In love, God wants to parent you into a reflective resemblance of His heart.
As a great Father, God offers to lead and guide each of us through our life process with His eternal insight. We are all born into life as young and immature images and likenesses of our heavenly Father. God wants to teach us and discipline us as maturing children, so we can embrace and share His love in our realms of influence.
While there are times and seasons when we seem to truly live and move and exist in Him (l), there are also times and seasons when God seems a bit distant but He is not far from any of us (m).
How mature is your expression? How finely are you ‘reflecting as a mirror’ and ‘resembling as a child’ the heart and attitude of our heavenly Father? May we keep leaning into His love; seeking His insightful guidance and maturing as children of God.
a) Genesis 1:26-28; b) Acts 17:22-29; c) Genesis 1:31; d) Genesis 2:1-4; e) Genesis 2:7; Job 32:8; f) Genesis 2:18; g) Genesis 2:21-23; h) Genseis 1:28; i) Ecclesiastics 12:7; Proverbs 20:27; j) Psalms 34:8; k) Hebrews 5:14; l) Acts 17:28; m) Acts 17:27; Psalms 119:155-116
Keith Carroll, “The Relationship Guy”
Relational Gospel Founder