“Why are you here?” A short, simple question, but one that can be read in a few different ways. I would guess that most people have, at some point, asked themselves this question at the deepest, most profound level—”why do I exist?” The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins with a question-answer pair that addresses this question, and which could be paraphrased: What is the ultimate purpose of Mankind? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
Therein lies the problem for some people, because their ultimate purpose is something completely different. It could be pleasure, it could be wealth, or it could be any number of other things—not all of which need be taken in a negative way. Some people place the highest value on Mankind as a whole, or on their families, or on the needy, for example.
This Easter, I reflect on the Lord Jesus Christ’s purpose; why was He here? If the principle in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is true, and if Jesus is a man, then the principle must apply to Him at some level. What did Jesus have to say on this point? One place we can find an answer is in the Bible at John 6:38–40, where Jesus (God the Son) says, “For I have come down from Heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
I am no theologian, but even I can perceive some of the weight that those three sentences carry, and the many questions that could arise from them. (What is Heaven? Why do we die at all? What is the ‘last day’? What does ‘believing in’ actually mean?) For now, I’d like to focus on part of the third sentence: “that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life.” It sounds quite simple, doesn’t it? Look on the Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), believe in Him, and you will receive eternal life. Perhaps it sounds too simple. It can’t really be that simple, can it? Surely there must be something more to do? Good works? Donating money? Religious rituals? There’s potentially a lot here that could be misunderstood.
Recently, Pastor Tom Hicks visited my church and presented a series of four messages about ‘how you can become a Christian.’ The first of those messages aims to cut through potential misunderstandings and focus on the one thing that we need to understand correctly: being born again. Perhaps you’ve heard that expression before, and wondered what it really means. I’d encourage you to take some time and listen to that first message. If nothing else, I hope that it’ll help you to reflect on that first question for yourself: why are you here?