Have We Forgotten What We Were Created For?

There is something that has been weighing on my heart lately.

I wonder if we've become so comfortable with Christianity that genuine devotion to God now seems extreme.

When did spending hours in prayer become "too much"?

When did taking Jesus at His word become legalism?

When did obedience become optional?

It seems that today, when someone simply reads a passage of Scripture and says, "This is how we should live," they are often met with resistance. Instead of asking, "How can I obey this?" many people ask, "Do I really have to?"

Some even call those who take God's Word seriously "radical."

But maybe we're asking the wrong question.

Who Is Really Being Radical?

The Bible tells us to love our enemies.

To forgive.

To give generously.

To care for the poor.

To count others as more significant than ourselves.

To deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.

To seek first the Kingdom of God.

To love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

None of these were presented by Jesus as optional suggestions. They are invitations into the life we were created to live.

So who is really being unreasonable?

The one who believes God enough to obey Him?

Or the one who says, "I know that's what the Bible says, but surely God doesn't expect me to actually live that way."

When viewed through the lens of eternity, the answer becomes much clearer.

We Were Created for Him

One of the greatest truths in Scripture is that our lives are not ultimately about us.

We were created by God.

We were created through God.

And we were created for God.

Every hair on your head.

Every cell in your body.

Every breath you have ever taken exists because He willed it to exist.

You are not an accident.

You are not random.

You were intentionally designed by a Creator who knows exactly why He made you.

If that is true, then wouldn't it make sense that the One who created us also knows how we are meant to live?

The Manufacturer Knows Best

Imagine buying a brand-new vehicle.

One day something begins to malfunction.

What do you do?

You either take it to someone who understands how it was built, or you open the owner's manual to discover how the manufacturer designed it to function.

Very few people would ignore the manufacturer and instead trust random opinions from people who have never designed the vehicle.

Yet we do this with our lives all the time.

God, the One who designed humanity, has given us His Word.

Within its pages we discover not only what is right and wrong, but also why we exist, how we flourish, and what truly brings life.

The Bible is not merely a rulebook.

It is the Creator's instruction manual for the people He lovingly designed.

Stop Looking for Loopholes

One of the saddest trends I see is that many people approach Scripture looking for exceptions instead of transformation.

Instead of asking:

"Lord, how do I live this?"

we ask,

"What's the least I have to do?"

Instead of allowing God's Word to shape us, we try to reshape God's Word to fit us.

But following Jesus has never been about finding loopholes.

It has always been about surrender.

The goal isn't simply believing the Bible.

The goal is becoming the kind of person who joyfully lives what it says.

We Become Like What We Pursue

Every person is obsessed with something.

Success.

Money.

Entertainment.

Relationships.

Comfort.

Approval.

Knowledge.

The question isn't whether we are obsessed.

The question is whether we are obsessed with the One who created us.

David longed for God's presence.

Paul counted everything else as loss compared to knowing Christ.

Mary sat at Jesus' feet while others were distracted.

These people weren't fanatics.

They simply understood something many of us have forgotten.

Life is found in Him.

Living for What We Were Made For

If we truly believe that God created us, then seeking Him should never feel like a burden.

Obedience shouldn't feel like punishment.

Time with Him shouldn't be something we squeeze into the leftovers of our day.

It should be the very center of our lives.

Not because we're trying to earn His love.

But because we've already received it.

The more we understand who He is, the more natural it becomes to seek Him with everything we have.

Perhaps the truly unreasonable life isn't radical obedience to God.

Perhaps the unreasonable life is knowing why we were created...and choosing to live for everything else.

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." — Romans 11:36

Pastor Scott

What are we made for?