Life has Purpose

After my sons and I arrived at their bus stop yesterday, Zed picked this up off the ground.  I tried to convince him that over many years this small piece of metal had been formed by random, natural processes.  The letters "BIC" had stamped themselves into what appeared to be red plastic.  He looked at me as if I claimed to have swallowed the moon.  "But what is it for, Dad?" he asked.  "What does it do?"  No one in our family smokes, so Zed would have no clue that this little piece of metal and plastic is part of a cigarette lighter.

I appreciated Zed's insight into the lighter piece because without even knowing what it was, he instantly recognized it had been made by an intelligent source for a specific purpose.  I did not need to explain this to him:  it was as obvious as the sun in the sky.  Man invents and manufactures products to perform functions which make life easier to be sold for financial profit.  Zed knew this assemblage of metal and plastic did not just happen, but it exists for a purpose.  In its current state, it looked worthless.  We then turned our attention to the trees, the flowers, and even our fingers.  All these living things have been created by God for a purpose too:  the glory of God!

What is more remarkable:  the little inanimate part of the lighter made by man, or the living, growing tissue of my fingers which nimbly plucked it from the ground?  The answer is so elementary I need not answer.  But I am deeply shamed and embarrassed that men who have been crafted in the wombs of their mothers can look at the trees, birds, flowers, and even their own bodies and believe they have simply occurred through the random processes in nature without any intelligence behind it.  Can intelligence and information come from nothing?  There must be a source of wisdom and intelligence, even as the mechanical part of the lighter could be traced back to a manufacturing plant.  The raw materials came from somewhere, the design was carefully engineered, and was produced by professionals in massive quantities who invented machines to extrude plastic and form the metal in the proper shape.  I don't know a single one of those people who made this little part.  But I know the all wise and intelligent Being who has created the heavens, the earth and all that is within them both living and inanimate:  God!

The Bible speaks of Jesus Christ as the "Word" who became flesh.  John 1:1-3 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."  When we see the beauty and splendour of the world and universe, it exists to teach us of God and glorify Him.  Psalm 19:1-3 states, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. ² Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. ³ There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."  God is the one who has placed the DNA in each one of your self-replicating cells.  He is the one who formed you and breathed into you a living soul.  Therefore it is God who has designed you with a purpose to honor and glorify Him too.  When we are separated from God because of our sins, we're like that lighter part all alone:  it cannot fulfill the function for which it was designed.

Don't buy the lie that everything around you is the result of some cosmic accident or alien encounter.  Realize the purpose for which you have been created.  As it says in the Westminster catechism, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."  The way to do that is to repent, trust in Jesus Christ, and honor Him with obedience.  God has given us the Bible so we might know Him better and grow in our relationship with Him.  Never forget that your life has a purpose, the sole purpose to live for God!