The purpose of our earthly life,
Do you know that there are some people, today, who do not believe that the earth is a sphere? And this in spite all the evidence to the contrary, including photos of our planet from space…
And there are also many people today who do not believe that there is a God, a Creator, regardless of all the evidence there is around us.
In spite of all the unbelievably complicated design that can be seen in everything that exists, they reject the idea of an intelligent, Sublime mind, a Creator!
But, there are also some of us, who are honest enough with ourselves to recognize that there is a super intelligent Creator, who has created all there is for a good purpose.
(John 12: 45 , 14: 9 , Colossians 2: 9)
And we need to know what that purpose is, in order to know how to live our life on earth! But first, we must determine who that the True God is! ( since mankind has invented many false God’s, many false religions..,
Is it possible to know which is the true religion, the True God? Yes, it definitely is!
Briefly: Only one religion can prove in an intelligent, logical, critical way that its founder truly came from God: The Judeo/Christian religion.
For the sake of conciseness, I will quickly bypass Abraham, Moses, and the prophets of the Old Testament and come straight to Jesus of Nazareth:
His apostles, (whose 2.000 years old writings have been meticulously kept unchanged until today), claimed that they saw Jesus resurrected after his crucifixion and watched him- with their own eyes- ascend in the sky! (Luke 24: 51)
If true, that would be the ultimate proof that Jesus truly came from God and knew what he was talking about, wouldn’t it?
If, on the other hand, what the apostles wrote in the New Testament was a lie, (a lie that they themselves had created), they would definitely not have given their lives, all of them, for spreading such impossible, crazy claims. But history unequivocally testifies that the apostles did die, (after a long life of dreadful persecutions) a martyr’s death, each one of them.
Can we logically explain that twelve men were willing to suffer much persecution and give their lives for a lie that they had invented? No, that is for sure. Not if we are sincere with ourselves.
We therefore conclude that the writers of the New Testament truly saw Jesus resurrected, and that what he had told them was the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth. His resurrection proved it to them and their self-sacrificial lives, to us. (Acts 4: 29)
So, we can be assured that the God of the Bible is real.
We need to know, now, what is, according to the Bible, the purpose of our existence on this planet!
Well, it transpires from God’s Word that our Creator spends much of his time observing each one of us:
He made us, he says, much like himself, eternal beings, free to choose what kind of a person we want to be, and he needs to know where he should place each one of us for eternity…
In his written Word, he says that he will assign a place near himself to anyone who seeks him and lives a selfless life, does what is good, just and loving in his eyes, and who submits to his Son, Jesus, above all. They will be his friends, his children, for ever… (Psalm 53: 2 ; John 4: 23 ; Chronicles 16: 9)
In order to determine who is what, God puts us all through a variety of tests, of experiences, while on this earth, and watches out to see:
Will we seek in all circumstances, to please Him? (Matthew 6: 33. ; Luke 12: 29 – 34 )
Will we be loving to others and do to them as we wished they would have done to us, (if we were in their shoes), or will we live self-centered lives! (Luke 6: 31. ; Galatians 5: 14. ; Leviticus 19: 18)
And, most importantly, he watches to see if we will recognize and love his Only Son, Jesus Christ, for whose sake we actually were created! Will we love him, whole heartedly? Will we obey his commandments and stay faithful to him no matter how hard it may be? (Matthew 7: 21 ; Matthew 24: 13 ; Matthew 10: 22)
Depending on how well we pass these tests, our Creator will assign to each one of us, a place in eternity where we deserve to be, where we will fit in best… (2 Timothy 2: 20 – 21)
We, humans, do likewise, don’t we?
Animal lovers, for instance, do not want to have a disobedient, dangerous, unpleasant or dirty dog to live in their home, do they? No!
So, they observe the behaviour of every dog, and choose one that is affectionate, good natured, obedient, and clean so that it can live in its master’s house and lay at his feet… Other dogs, with less praiseworthy qualities, their masters will put them in the garden, or in the fields to look after the sheep… They love them all, but each dog is placed where it suits it best, depending on its character, the nature it has proven to have. (2 Timothy 2:20-21).
As for the vicious and rebellious dogs, their masters will have them chained and caged, far away from themselves, so that they may scare away unwanted intruders…
Well… God will do likewise:
He will choose his faithful followers, (those who have sought to please him on this Godless earth), to live near himself, (in his Holy City, the New Jerusalem), forever.
He will have them washed clean of the guilt of their sins by the blood of Jesus, and they will enjoy the best there is in God’s Kingdom. (John 14: 2 ; Revelation 21: 27 ; Isaiah 65: 18)
Others, (such as those who did good to God’s children in need, but did not belong to Jesus), will be “guests” on that new earth. They will live outside the city of God long and happy lives, lives as long as those of the trees, but sooner or later… they will die ! (Matthew 22: 2-14 ; Matthew25: 31- 40 ; Isaiah 65: 17-25)
And some, (actually most), will be thrown outside of God’s heavenly kingdom altogether… in hell, for being wicked, rebellious and unrepentant, and most of all, for rejecting his very Son, who gave his life for them to be spared from going to such a terrible place. (Matthew 22: 2-14 ; Revelation 20: 12-15 ; 21: 8. ; Isaiah 66: 4, 24)
I, for one, want to live my eternal life as closely as possible to Jesus, for whom I know I was created. For that is where the wonderful God that I love will be!
That is also where the best people, the best living conditions, the best shows and all the excitement will be found, in God’s presence.
Therefore, now, in this life, I do not seek so much to enjoy it, to live as happily as I can, but rather I strive to be as faithful as I should be to my loving God, who may put me through many tests, many disappointments and failures, who allows me to go through many deep sorrows and dark tunnels of despair. But, through all these sorrowful experiences, he transforms me into the kind of person he wants me to be, while also bestowing on me many unexpected blessings and some happiness…
Through all these experiences God gives us the opportunity to prove ourselves and improve our soul by letting it grow in faith, in holiness, in humility, kindness and faithfulness, all those qualities that he wants to develop in us. (Hebrews 12: 3 – 11)
And one day… we will receive what we aspire for, and deserve. For it is written in the Bible:
“God will judge everyone according to what they have done:
To those who, with persistence, kept on doing what is good and sought to receive honour, glory and immortality from God, he will give them, in the eternal life, what they have been seeking for.
But God’s anger and wrath will be poured out on those who choose to please themselves, and refuse to obey the Truth, but live instead lives of wickedness…” (Romans 2: 6-8)
Where will God will be placing you for eternity?
Won’t you try harder to please him, so as to, one day, live eternally in happiness, in his presence?
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For those who want to know more:
A Glimpse of the life to come
After Judgement Day, and the destruction by fire of our universe, God will create a New Heaven and a New Earth.
He will then lower down from heaven a readymade city that he had built in advance, (the New Jerusalem), and place it on a mountain, his Holy Mountain, upon that New Earth. (2 Peter 3: 7 & 10. ; Revelation 21: 1, 10 – 11 )
God himself, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, will live there, together with all those who love and obey him. In his presence, love, happiness, goodness and beauty will be paramount… (Revelation 21: 3, 22 ; 22: 3 – 4 ; Zechariah 2: 11)
God will choose those with whom he is most pleased to become his closest friends: Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Daniel, David, the apostles and the likes of them… (I strive to be included in that number)
They will live near God’s house, sit with Jesus around his dining table and will help him rule and judge the universe. So the Bible says. (Luke 22: 30 , John14: 2-3 )
God will choose other of his faithful followers, who have lived less outstanding lives but whose names are written in the “Book of Life” and have been “washed by the blood of Jesus», to also live in the New Jerusalem, in dwellings that he has prepared for them for whenever they visit the City of God! (John 14: 2 ; Revelation 21: 27 ; Isaiah 65: 18)
Their permanent home, however, will be in the countryside, on God’s Holy Mountain, where they will build farmhouses and will live peacefully and happily on them, forever and ever! (Isaiah 65: 21-24)
The Bible does not give much information about everything we would like to know, but, through the parable of “the Son’s Wedding” in Matthew 22: 2-14, we gather that in the Kingdom of God there will be: Citizens, (the “bride” of Christ) , and Non-Citizens, (the “guests”…) (Matthew 22: 2-14)
Those guests will be spread out on the rest of the surface of the New Earth that will be created, living in different nations, much like it is done here on earth. (Revelation 21: 24)
The citizens, God’s children, will live on God’s Holy Mountain and will never suffer long or die. (Revelation 21: 1-4. ; Isaiah 11: 9 )
The guests, however, will live among the nations; things there will be much as it is on our earth: people will work, have families, and when they sin, they will suffer long for it. They will live as long as the trees do, but sooner or later they will die! (Isaiah 65: 17-25)
Animals will live on the New Earth also, wild and domestic animals alike, for they too have souls that will be judged by God. Each will be assigned where they will live.. Those animals whom God approves, he will renew them, just like us, and they will live happy and harmless lives on God’s mountain. All animals there will be vegetarians, lions and bears included… (Genesis 9: 5 ; Isaiah 65: 25 )
Some of today’s “spiritual leaders” (that are followed, loved and admired by all here on earth), will be among the least important in heaven, whereas some of the most unappreciated individuals in this life will be among the greatest ones there… (Luke 13: 30) Will I be one of them?
And some people, actually many…, will be thrown outside of God’s heavenly kingdom altogether… in hell, for remaining unrepentant, wicked and rebellious, and most of all, for rejecting his very Son, who gave his life for us all to be saved, to be spared from going to such a terrible place. (Revelation 20: 12-15 ; 21: 8. ; Isaiah 66: 4, 24)
God will apparently enclose the souls of those condemned to hell into the body of worm-like creatures that will live in a deep valley on fire outside the New Jerusalem, They will be a warning to all passersby… (I suppose they will be put into good use, eating all the rubbish that is thrown in it). (Isaiah 66: 24. ; Matthew 25: 41 ; Revelation 20: 10 )
As I have already mentioned, the purpose of God placing us here on our earth is for us to pass through a set of tests that will determine where we must spend eternity… (Revelation 20: 11 – 13)
Let us make sure that we do not end up spending eternity in the wrong place.
The picture that I have described in this presentation is the one that I have reached by gathering all of the Bible’s “jig-saw” pieces on the subject together…
Others may see things differently.
What matters, in the end of the day, is that each of us strives to enter God’s Kingdom where we will live eternally happy.
Constantin Economides