Focus: What Are You Here For?

Text: 1Jh.4:14

"The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world."

Our existence in this world is neither by accident nor by coincidence. No one exists for nothing. There is a grand design for every one's life here on earth. Life is more than sleeping and waking up, eating and drinking, growing up and growing old, getting married and rearing children, buying and selling, working round the clock and having fun, getting and spending money, paying bills and living big, or getting old and dying. 

Life is more than random motion or routine existence. Someone has said that by getting and spending we lay waste our powers. There's certainly a central purpose to life on earth. Eliab said to David his brother, "WHY camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle" (1Sam.17:28). Here is David's response, "What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" David is saying in essence, 'I am not here just to see the battle. I didn't leave the business of tending to a few sheep of my father just for a sightseeing in the battlefield. I am not even here because our father sent me to you. I am here for a weightier matter. I am here for a reason. God is behind my being here. God has dropped a word in my heart. God has communicated a message to me and I'm being propelled by divine purpose.' The word 'cause' used in this verse is dâbâr in Hebrew, and it means a word as spoken or thought, a reason, a matter, a thing or something. 

In Gen.15:1 we read, "After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision…" The words "these things" and "word" are dâbâr in the original text. In Gen.18:14 we read, "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" There we have it again. "Any thing" is dâbâr. David was driven into the scene of battle by something beyond him - a grander reason beyond his father sending him.

Why are you here on earth? To what purpose did God allow you to be born into this world? Existence has one overriding purpose or principle. Have you identified it? Concerning Jesus Christ, we are informed by the Scripture that "the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." It was clear to Christ what the Father sent Him to the earth to accomplish - the salvation of all mankind. He came here, faced His divine assignment squarely, and nailed it. He never wasted any moment beating about the bush. He was focused and determined. He knew why He came to earth and would not let Himself be distracted from His mission. The Lord Jesus Christ says of Paul, "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Act.9:15). Paul was captured and captivated by Christ and given appointment and a job description. He had His job cut out for Him, and He got it done.

Why are you here? Don't be like the children of Israel! Jeremiah says of them, "Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter…" (Lam.1:9). She ended badly for not being conscious of her own destiny. In the matter of destiny or purpose, her memory was blank. She lived a life that was completely bereft of purpose. She lost sight of her identity and lost grips of her destiny.

Lord, help us catch a revelation and a sense of purpose! Help us understand why we are here on earth, and grant us the grace to face and fulfill it accordingly! Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter