Life’s three questions

There are three questions that man has long struggled with. They are: (1) Where did I come from? (2) Why am I here? & (3) Where am I going? One answer that many espouse to in this age is that human existence was a colossal accident, a combination of blind chance and dumb luck. This view of where man came from is found in the teachings of organic evolution. With this answer to the first question, the second and third can only be answered by saying there really is no long-term purpose for life. It is basically a meaningless life which must be endured before passing into the dark abyss of extinction. Many have suggested that there is really no way of knowing because both the distant past and the future are hidden in uncertainty. Therefore, for these people, the best we can do is to hold the philosophy of “you only go around one in life, grab all the gusto you can get,; Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow death may come. Life for these has no “meaningful” purpose and no one knows what lies beyond death. Still others believe the answers to these questions are immaterial. Maybe they will go away if we just ignore them. I don’t know about you, but I find all the above answers to these three questions woefully inadequate. There must be a better answer somewhere. And, there is.

The Bible answers all three of these questions with an answer that is meaningful for the here and now as well as for after this life on earth is over. Let us consider the Bible answer to these questions.

Where did I come from? Man is the result of God’s special creation of humanity. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:27). Specifically for each of us individually, we are the unique conception of our father and our mother. Thus, as a human you consist of two distinct natures—a temporary earthly nature (our body) made from the dust of the ground and an immortal spiritual nature (our soul) given by God. Death occurs when the spiritual nature and the physical nature separate (James 2:26). Death does not result in extinction, but in a continued existence in the spiritual realm. In the Old Testament, this unseen place is the Hebrew noun Sheol. The New Testament word is the Greek noun Hades.

Why am I here? The answer to this question can be seen in two brief verses that Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes. He wrote, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecc. 12:13-14). Thus, this life is somewhat a proving ground. Our world has been intentionally designed to determine whether we will walk by obedient faith in God or choose to believe the lies our common adversary spews forth. An Old Testament passage that is somewhat a parallel to our life on earth is one that shows the purpose of Israel’s wilderness wandering. Israel was told, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deut. 8:2). Since faith comes by hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17) and God’s word is found only in the inspired scriptures, we must learn the scriptures and become doers of that word (James 1:22; Col. 3:17; Heb. 5:9).

Where am I going? Upon our death, this physical tabernacle in which we dwell will begin to decay and to decompose. As Solomon put it, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was…” (Ecc. 12:7). Having freedom of choice, we determine how we live our lives. We are accountable to God for our thoughts, actions, and words. Our choice in this life either to obey or disobey God will have eternal consequences, for we will be judged in the last day by our actions in this life. The Hebrew writer stated, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (II Cor. 5:10). Jesus said, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt. 25:46). When we apply the “Why am I here?” to this “Where am I going?” we see that we are here to live in such a manner that when this life is over, we can have an eternal home in heaven.

So, now we know the answers to life’s three questions. We know where we came from. Created by God and instilled with a soul. We know why we are here, to prepare for life after death and if we are honest with ourselves, we know where we are going to.