Over a year ago I asked myself these questions... I answered for myself then and would love to read your thoughts now... Don't feel pressured to answered every question.What is the meaning of life? Why do we walk the earth? Why do we struggle? Why do we care about what others think about us? Why did God make us? What is our purpose? What is my purpose? What is God's plan for my life? What good is suffering? Why do we have money? Why do we struggle to have money? Why do we have to hurt? Why do people hurt each other? How can I help? Do I even want to help? Do I make a difference at all? What is the motive of my heart?
27 comments:
The meaning of life is... I don't know sometimes I think we are ants and God is sitting there watching us...
We walk on the earth because it's what God wants us to do.
We struggle so we can learn lessongs.
We shouldn't care what others think only what we think.
God made us in His image because He wanted companionship.
My purpose is to do the will of God. But I alwayas wanted to go to Africa as a little girl, but if I would have done that I wouldn't have my three kids.
God's plan for my life is to do His will, but He wants us to make our own choice.
Suffering teaches that we are dependent on Him and He wants us to please Him.
Money helps us to survive.
People hurt each other because we don't have sense - jealousy, etc.
Yes, I want to help and I do it by learning and following the will of God.
I think I make a difference, but other times people take advantage of me.
The motive of my heart is to do the will of God.
God's Desire for companionship, as mentioned by Deb is a big driving force in my life. The Purpose Driven Life book through on a big light switch for me!
What is the meaning of life? This is deep. All my answers may not be right, but they are where I am today. I'll say to glorify God.
Why do we walk the earth? Same as above. To be His hands and feet. To have relationships with God and others.
Why do we struggle? So we can run to God. To show us our need for a savior.
Why do we care about what others think about us? Pride.
Why did God make us? To love Him and others. To know Him and be known.
What is our purpose? Answer one.
What is my purpose? To be a voice of truth, grace and love for Him. A comforter of sorts.
What is God's plan for my life? Same as above.
What good is suffering? To develop character in some cases. To bring God glory.
Why do we have money? As a tool.
Why do we struggle to have money? Selfish nature.
Why do we have to hurt? Broken world.
Why do people hurt each other? They are hurting themselves.
How can I help? Many ways. Time. Talent. Money. Serve. Love. Ect/
By looking for opportunities big and small each day.
Do I even want to help? YES.
Do I make a difference at all? Hope so.
What is the motive of my heart? I pray it's love.
That's my answers. Good to think about. God bless you, Robin. Shout out loud for those who don't have a voice...
Deb, I agree that we struggle to learn - some of my best learning comes from hard lessons. Wish I could learn the easy way sometimes, but for some reason it makes a deeper impact if it doesn't come easy...
Papa, I read the Purpose Driven Life with our church group and later we read the book by Frank Moore - The Power to Be Free: Discovering Life in the Spirit of Christ. I shared a quote that touched both me and Carol. She shared it on her blog and I grabbed my book to look it up and sure enough I had that same quote highlighted - I shared it at www.thinkonthisquotes.blogspot.com - you can find it by searching with the author's name.
Tiffany thank you so much for taking the time to answer all the questions - I didn't think anyone would do that :)
I think that once we've answered these questions for ourself and are at peace with God and ourselves we are then free to share HIS love with others. I think our answers can change/deepen over time as our relationship with the Lord grows too.
I recently moved my computer, desk, printer and printer console from my bedroom to our school room and ended up going through the contents of the console (stuff I hadn't looked at in ages) and came across my Dear God journals I started when I was about 13. Its interesting to see changes in my life and in my spiritual development through the years.
Thank you all for your answers!
Yes, Tiffany, we must shout out for those who do not have a voice!
What is the meaning of life? I don't know.
Why do we walk the earth? Because God made us.
Why do we struggle? That is a good question.
Why do we care about what others think about us? Because I want them to like me.
Why did God make us? He wanted someone to love.
What is our purpose? To be good and wise and follow God.
What is my purpose? I don't know yet.
What is God's plan for my life? To be a Christian.
What good is suffering? No good.
Why do we have money? To pay bills.
Why do we struggle to have money? We shouldn't struggle to have money because it's nonsense.
Why do we have to hurt? Because there is sin in the world. I don't think God really wants us to suffer, but sometimes we still do get hurt.
Why do people hurt each other? Because they are mad at each other.
How can I help? By doing good deeds.
Do I even want to help? Uh duh - of course!
Do I make a difference at all? Yes of course!
What is the motive of my heart? To try to be a good kid.
-Anonymous Girl
Robin, these are profound questions, and to answer even one of them would take several paragraphs for me. You know me...I go on and on. I am impressed with the other commentors who were able to be concise and to the point. Rather than trying to answer these questions, let me just say I hope you share how your life has changed from the 13 year old girl you once were. What a neat thing that you journaled at that age. I'm amazed that you are where you are today after all that you have come through. God has surely placed His hand on your life and is changing you in to His image, one day at a time.
The one question I will answer...What good is suffering? Jesus suffered...the ultimate of all sufferings. Suffering is God's sand paper that grinds away at the rough edges and makes us more and more into the image of his Son. Suffering is a fine-tuning instrument. Suffering teaches us more and gives us more wisdom than everything going just fine in our lives. Jesus is with us in our suffering in a way that He can not be when all is well...there is an intimacy that comes through knowing how very dependent we are on him. When you come through suffering, like coming through a tunnel back into the light, somehow you see things differently, and God gives you a rest. However, as you go on in life, when you look back you will see that it was in the times of suffering that Jesus carried you...just like the Footprints in the Sand proclaims. No one should be afraid to suffer, as long as they can take hold of the hand of Jesus and ask him to lead the way!
And now I think I have a clue as to your spiritual depth and maturity, Robin. You have known suffering, and it has become your friend...for Jesus is your friend, and you are close to him.
Hi Carol,
Thanks for your comment. I will probably share more about my life on my blog as I feel led. Back when I was 13 my prayers seemed so me, me, me oriented - they were almost embarrassing to read. The transformation from 13 to 17 when I went to college was huge. When I was 16 God began a major work in my life and when I was 17 I went to Nazarene Youth Congress and what was started at 16 took on a whole new life.
Yes, during the times of suffering, I was carried by Jesus. It was never fun at the time, but in hindsight I know I needed to learn those lessons. They have given me compassion for others. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 are verses that I claim because I want to be there for others who are hurting and point them to Jesus' comfort.
What is the meaning of life? Such a complex question. The meaning of life is to be of service to as many people as you can.
Why do we struggle? Because we aren't in heaven yet.
Why do we care about what others think about us? I don't!
Why did God make us? To help each other and bring joy to the lives of others.
What is my purpose? To show God's lovingkindness to other people.
What is God's plan for my life? To get me to heaven.
What good is suffering? It builds character.
Why do have money? To pay bills and to enjoy life.
Why do we struggle to have more money? Because our needs change.
Why do we have to hurt? To allow God to build our character.
Why do people hurt each other? All hurt can be summed up in one thing - people hurt because they fear something.
How can I help? By being available.
Do I even want to help? Yes!
Do I make a difference at all? I do. I feel like a make a difference in my job every day and that's what keeps me going back each day.
What is the motive of my heart? To be loved and give love.
Wow! Don't think I want to wade into this at the moment. Maybe later. Thanks for your comment about Happy Birthday! My husband and I are at a loss to understand how our girls turned out to be so terrific. I tell people that they must have raised themselves. :)
My heart answers most of these questions with the same thing, pretty quickly. "To glorify God."
Rick,
Thanks for answering the questions, I know it looked like a lot to begin with but I appreciate that you took the time to answer them.
I like your answer to why do we struggle - because we aren't in heaven yet... Yep, the struggle will be over then!
Momstheword - thanks for stopping by - don't let the number of questions overwhelm you just feel free to answer one or two if you care to jump in.
I'm so glad to have made acquaintance with your family through the blog world. You are all pretty incredible! I know how your girls turned out so well :) They had parents who loved them and a Heavenly Father who sent HIS son.
Thanks for all you share on your blog! You are an inspiration.
I've had a couple of glitches in my Hospice volunteering. Everything is finally in order, but now I have an issue to figure out... Pray God gives me the wisdom I need and that I do what is best and what God wants me doing.
Thanks Ashley!
Your heart answers to glorify God! You have a beautiful heart! You have been through much and still the desire of your heart is to bring God glory and serve HIS people! I really enjoyed your last post - I think from 4-8-08. You know the thing I like most is the things you struggle with are the same things I struggle with...
God will give the answers - we just have to listen, Trust and OBEY!
Robin, You have brought up some very deep and thoughtprovoking questions. I'll just share some thoughts from my heart.
We are here on earth to bring glory to God. We struggle because we are human, but it causes us to lean on Him, and not on ourselves.
In thinking of God's plan for our lives I thought of this illustration: Think of a car driving at night with the headlights on. You can only see as far as the headlights illuminate the way. As you drive that distance, the headlights show the next distance up the road - and you go there. So it is with us, we follow the Lord step by step - and as we follow Him, He will show us the next step.
The verse on suffering and troubles is one that you've already claimed: II Cor. 1:3&4. I have found this to be true in my life - as something I have gone through enables me to give encouragement and comfort to someone else who is going through similar circumstances.
I think we have money so that we can further His kingdom - to support our local church, our missionaries, and help others.
And one of the most powerful things we can do is to pray.
May God bless you as you continue to look to Him for guidance.
What is the meaning of life? -- If by "meaning" you mean "purpose" then the meaning of life is found in knowing and serving the God who created us.
Why do we walk the earth? -- We don't. We drive mostly.
Why do we struggle? -- Sin entered the world through the Fall in the Garden. that brought a curse of labor and suffering and difficulty.
Why do we care about what others think about us? -- Someone once said, "It's not what you say or think about me that huris hurt by what folks think. It is what I THINK about what you say or think about me that hurts me." We care because our personal pride. We don't want to look bad to anyone.
Why did God make us? -- To love us and for us to love Him.
What is our purpose? -- Same as above with a little bit of question #1 mixed in.
What is my purpose? -- My purpose is to love Him, serve Him and get as many people as I can to do the same. starting with my family.
What is God's plan for my life? -- Obey and follow Him every day, and to do it day by day.
What good is suffering? -- That depends on what we learn from it, or what impact how I endure it is upon those around me.
Why do we have money? -- To learn to become good stewards of what God gives us.
Why do we struggle to have money? -- I don't know that I struggle to have money. I struggle to get my priorities aligned with God's.
Why do we have to hurt? -- It teaches us and gives us an opportunity to trust Him.
Why do people hurt each other? -- Sin and careless words and actions.
How can I help? -- don't know what you mean here.
Do I even want to help? -- Still don't know who the "I" is here.
Do I make a difference at all? - Absolutely. The question is... Is it a positive difference?
What is the motive of my heart? -- My motive is always purer than my actions if you ask me! You see I meant well... It just didn't turn out well.
Now I will go back and read the other folks responses.
Ruthie,
Great illustration about the headlights. You know if God lit up more than we needed to know it might frighten us at different points in our life. He tells us just what we need to know.
Thanks for sharing your words of wisdom!
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for stopping by. The questions weren't worded very well - I just took them from something I typed up a year and a half ago and didn't change them enough to make perfect sense for this blog entry. Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions though. I think as we learn from others experiences we can grow closer to the Lord, but unfortunately most of the time we tend to learn best from the hard lessons because they make the deepest impact. Hopefully we can learn the lessons just once.
I appreciate you humor re: walking the earth. One time when I was a kid, I asked someone how they could stand to drink and the person replied they didn't stand they sat.
I like your answer re: what good is suffering.
Thanks again for stopping by.
Hi Robin, I didn't know that reading your blog would be so demanding of me ;)
Here goes: meaning of life? what we make it. walk the earth? someone has to. struggle? it humbles us. what others think about us? who cares. why God made us? to worship Him. purpose? ask me again in 10 years, if my kids turn out okay, that was it. God's plan? I've asked Him and He has gotten back to me yet. suffering? again, it humbles us and God loves a humble heart. Why do we have $? I don't. hurts? humility. hurt each other? pride and stupidity. help? love unconditionally. want to help? once you have loved unconditionally someone who is unlovable, you'll want to do this always as an obedience and a blessing. make a difference? YES. motive? answers, we want answers because we're thinking individuals that care.
Did I miss anything?
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving me your comments. It makes my day! :)
Life Adapted, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to answer all those questions. I don't usually ask so many questions, but I enjoy the comments either way. Your comment about not having money made me smile because it was my thought for us as well. Of course that is just in comparison to people around me...
I've been talking about these questions with my family and my five year old son asked me yesterday, "What does God want me to be when I grow up?" The little guy has always asked philosophical questions or ones I wouldn't expect from someone his age. He told me once that he is going to be either: Spiderman, Superman or a preacher when he grows up. I told him those were all great! :)
I'm going to post a silly story involving my kids sometime. Your blog is hilarious. I love your sense of humor.
Hi Robin,
I will answer one question.
What is our purpose? The answer:
The purpose of life is not to be happy, but to matter. God made us all in HIS image. Maybe if I have more time to answer more questions I can do that, but right now, my son is hungry for lunch and I need to feed him.
God bless,
Laura
ya know i have been asking myself that alot !
hope all is well!
dear Lord! 24 comments! WOW!
Jessica,
I don't see your answers :) haha
How was your birthday? I enjoyed your cake I made for you. It was the best strawberry cake I ever made :)
Jel - thanks for stopping by :) Hope you are doing well. I enjoy checking out your pictures!
Laura - Thanks for the answer you gave and I look forward to any others you may have time to share. What if our purpose on earth is to become holy instead of happy? We sometimes strive for something we may never gain. If happiness is our goal it may never be attained but if becoming like Jesus is our purpose and goal it can eventually be attained only through the power of God - so to God be the glory for accomplishign something we cannot.
In a book I've been reading for quite some time the reader is challenged with this question...
"What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?"
from Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas - great book for all married couples.
Post a Comment