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What is life and why does it matter?
If you are asking or have asked these questions before, take heart! It likely means that feel that you are more than the proverbial "collection of cells" and that there is more to life than meets the eye. It also means that you are willing to pose hard questions in an attempt to understand more about the most important things in life.
Spoiler Alert: For the above person, I have good news for YOU! Life does indeed matter... more than you know.
As you can imagine, this question cannot be answered apart from our understanding of origin and meaning. The questions "Where did we come from?" and "Why are we here?"
Necessarily, the questions of origin and meaning cannot be answered apart from our understanding of God and his creation. In fact, our understanding of life directly hinges upon our understanding of God.
Why? Well, if there is no God, there is no creation. And if there is no creation, there is nothing but random chance. And if there is nothing but random chance, then there is no purpose, meaning, morality, or destiny.
On the contrary, if there is a God, then there is that which he created, and that creation, according to his word, has a revealed purpose and a destiny.
The truth and magnificence of creation demand that there is a God, a creator.
The truth and magnificence of the Bible demand that there is a God, the author of meaning, morality, and destiny.
And any consistent logical reasoning or adherence to the core principles of logic demand that there is a God, the divine orderer.
To briefly touch on the issue: In the realm of logical thought, there is the principle of the "unmoved mover." This law requires every effect (in other words: "everything that is" or simply "everything") there must be an "uncaused cause" or an "unmoved mover" (something or someone that began time and space and was not itself "begun").
Basing our convictions on these principles, I would say it is more than safe to say that there is a God, and that that God has revealed himself and his purposes through scripture.
Life Has Meaning Because We Have an Origin:
We are told that God created us and that he created us in his image (Gen. 1:27). Therefore, we are set apart from all other creatures, above all other creations as human beings, created special and unique in the image of God himself.
Psalm 139 says that the Lord "knit" us together in our mother's womb, clearly indicating that from the moment we were here conceived we had value and purpose because we, as soon-to-be conscious humans, not just as a collection of cells, were placed there by the hand of God.
Life Matters Because We Have a Purpose:
It is also made clear throughout scripture that we, as a people, were set apart to be saved by God's "great salvation" (Heb. 2:3), to be servants of Him and our fellow neighbor, and to enjoy his creation forever.
As creatures created in the image of God, in the "imago die," we have a clear, defined, and glorious purpose. That purpose is to Glorify God through our love of God, our love of neighbor (Mark 12:31), our work (Gen. 2:15), and our enjoyment of God's creation.
Life Matters Because We Have a Destiny
The Bible makes it very clear: If we are saved by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ through repentance and faith, we are destined for a glorious future with God in the new heaven and new earth. A place where the "former" (Rev. 21), imperfect things of this world will pass away, and a place where there will be no more sorrow and no more tears (Rev. 21).
Since Life Matters, What Are We Doing With Ours?
Now that we have discussed why life matters, really all that is left to do is to decide what to do with it. Your life matters, your neighbor's life matters, unborn life matters, it all has a purpose, and it all is to be assigned the highest value. And with great value comes a great responsibility to act in a way that mirrors the significance of that value.
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Contributor(s)
Al K. Scott
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