Why are you here? Why did God create you? As I asked the room this question I got back the typical responses: “I am here to live for God. I am here to glorify God. I am here to do God’s will. I am here to have a relationship with God…”
Why are we here? Is it to have a relationship with God? Is it to be a witness for God? I often find myself trying to explain to others why we are here and the answers that I usually give are to glorify God, and to have a relationship with Him. Every time I have battled with this question I have always come up with one statement solutions such as having a relationship with God.
I know that I am here to have a relationship with God and to glorify Him but how does this help me to know how to live. This past week as I was preparing for this message I felt like God wanted me to actually write down specific reasons of why I am here. Here is a list of reasons why I am here:
- To have a relationship with God
- To talk to God everyday
- To rely solely on Him
- To be a witness to my friends
- To show God’s light to the world around me
- To bring my cross country and triathlon teammates into the kingdom of God
- To show God’s love to those that God places in my life
- To respect my parents and to show the world how to honor your father and mother
- To read God’s Word on a daily basis and apply it to my life
- To listen every moment for God’s voice
- To walk in boldness and humility
- To marry the woman that God has called me to
- To disciple young men
- To raise up leaders that are going to change the world
- To show Hope to a lost and dying world
- To pray without ceasing
- To respect my teachers and show the world how to respect authority
- To place God first in my relationships
- To make God my center focus. My only focus
- To glorify God through my running
- To show the power and strength of God through my life
- To pastor God’s sheep and seek after the lost
- To plant churches
- To sow everything I am into the kingdom of God
- To walk onto my campus and other spheres of influence expressing God’s joy and passion
- To live a passionate life
- To lay down my life for my friends
- To lay down my life for my Savior
- To honor God in my marriage
- To walk in humility and unselfishness
- To be great
- To leave a legacy
- To show the world that God is my rock, my fortress, my salvation, my strong tower, my refuge, my peace, my joy, my strength, my hope, my passion, my Lord, my King, my ultimate love, my redeemer, the one who drives me, the one who enables me to run the race without giving up, the one who enables me to mount up with wings as eagles, my pleasure, my satisfaction, my happiness.
- To leave nothing left on the field when I die
- To worship God
- To live a life of purity
- To do God’s will no matter how hard
- To trust in Him with every area of my life
- To be radical for Jesus
- To always improve
- To reach the world through missions
- To persevere and trust in God through my trials
This is why I Ryan Austin am here!
Making this list took less than ten minutes and it is something I suggest you do. Too often we think of God’s will for our lives as too generalized. Get specific. Ask God to show you why you are really here and then you will have a reason or many reasons to live.
A man in history that learned this lesson the hard way was Adoniram Judson. Adoniram Judson was the first American missionary sent overseas. When Adoniram was 12 years old he was teaching the book of revelation in its original text (Greek) to the adult service. He was considered a genius, the master mind of America. Adoniram’s intelligence got to him as he grew older though. By the time he was in college he believed that he was smarter than God, therefore God was fake. Adoniram became an atheist. At Providence College (now Brown University) Adniram was such a fierce debater that he talked many Christians out of their faith. One of these men was Adoniram’s roommate Jacob Aimes. Jacob Aimes came into college professing to be a Christian but left college as an atheist. He credited this all to his roommate Adoniram Judson.
Many years after college Adoniram was travelling to New York on horseback to be trained in theatre. After his sessions in New York he was travelling back to Boston but out of complete exhaustion he decided to pull over at an inn. When Adoniram met the inn keeper he begged for a place to sleep: “Sir, I am exhausted. I will pay you the price of a room just let me sleep somewhere; even if I have to sleep on this couch.” The inn keeper replied, “There is one room open but we have closed it because adjacent to the room is a man that is dying. He carries the stench of death and has been cursing and groaning so loud that we did not want to put anyone next to him.” “Don’t worry. He won’t bother me” suggested Judson. As Adoniram lay in bed that night his sleep was stolen from him as he heard constant cursing and screaming in agony from this dying man. Finally, in the early morning the horrid sound subsided and Judson got some rest.
As Judson was checking out the next morning he said to the inn keeper, “I noticed that the man stopped screaming in the middle of the night. Is the man’s sickness gone?” The inn keeper replied, “No, this is terrible but the man actually passed away last night.” “This must be terrible for you—the person you are hosting dying” remarked Judson. “You know what’s incredible” said the inn keeper, “As I’ve tried to find this man’s kin I can’t seem to trace anyone that knows him; no family, friends or relatives. This shocks me because I have never seen a man with such credentials die alone. This man was known as Jacob Aimes. He went to Providence College and graduated at the top of his class. He has many other credentials and was apparently very intelligent.” Judson replied, “What did you say his name was?” To Judson’s dismay the inn keeper replied, “Jacob Aimes.”
As Judson travelled back to Boston streams of tears rolled down his face. With every step of the horses’ hoofs two words pounded in his mind, “Death! Hell! Death! Hell!” Finally Judson couldn’t take it anymore jumped off his horse, fell to the ground, crying out to God, “Lord, forgive me for leading someone to hell! I give my life to you!”
Judson immediately laid down his agenda and decided to travel overseas to be a missionary for God. He first traveled to India but was soon kicked out of Calcutta. He soon went back to the mission field, this time to Burma. Judson’s wife soon died from an oriental disease. Because of shear loneliness he ended up remarrying. Judson and his family ministered in Burma for seven years and not a single convert was made. Finally, after seven years of labor one man gave his life to God. Judson ended up losing his second wife and three or four of his children ended up dying. He came back to America after his second wife died but felt called to go back to Burma.
Judson spent the rest of his life ministering in Burma. One by one the Burmese gave their lives to Jesus and thousands ended up surrendering to Jesus because the Judson’s seeds. Because of this the Burmese government began to persecute Judson and Judson became ill because of lack of food and malnourishment. Judson continued to persevere, not letting up even an inch. The Burmese seeing how sick Judson was sent him on a boat back to America but Judson ended up dying on the journey and was cast into the see.
During Judson’s lifetime he ended up translating the Bible into Burmese and his wife translated it into Thai. What Judson never knew was that long before he even arrived in Burma there was a story of Burmese folklore that was often told: “One day there will come a man from a different land. He will bring a book that will set us free.”
Until we realize why we are really here and that there is a lost and dying world that needs us, we have nothing to live for. Don’t wait for God to flip your world upside down for you to realize your purpose. Find out what His will is and live it now!
Ryan Austin
Element Youth Leader
