For Whom We Exist

“…yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭8:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

I think that far too often we think of ourselves as the center of the universe. “What do I want to do today?” “How do I want to make my living?” “How can I get what’s coming to me?”

Of course it is human nature to think thusly. We think in the manner that sin has programmed into us. We were born with the seeds of sin already firmly rooted in our humanity. This is why scripture tells us that we must be born again (John 3:3 ESV)! We need for the old sin nature to be put to death so that we can be re-born with a spiritual nature, a God-centric nature.

Apart from this re-birth, we remain in our sin, living for ourselves.

Paul spells it out plainly, however. We were created for the Father, through the Son. We do not exist to squeeze every last hedonistic drop from life! It is not, “how can I get the most pleasure and the least pain.” Pleasure and pain are part of our existence, but not the reason for existence. We exist for God.

It’s easy to miss this truth, even though it has always been the case.

Now I’m not saying that we all need to be full-time ministers. But I am saying that we take care to remember that it is not about us. When we suffer it’s not about us. When life is good, it’s still not about us.

When we come to that realization, when we begin to live our live with a view toward glorifying Jesus in everything we do, we will see the power of God grow in the Church again. We will see those around us convicted of sin before we speak a single word. 

As the Bride of Christ, are we living for a shotgun wedding? Or are we preparing for a wedding that far outshines That of Harry and Meghan?

We exist because of Him and for Him. Selah (think mindfully on that!).