Why am I alive?
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge. Psalm 19:1-2
The instruction of the LORD is perfect,
renewing one’s life;
the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
making the heart glad;
the command of the LORD is radiant,
making the eyes light up. Psalm 19:7-8
One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all? ”
Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31
Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:12-14
To love God and serve his world by reflecting his goodness in my thoughts, attitude, and actions.
You can’t get away from it. You hear it in your favorite movies and music. You see it reflected on YouTube and Snapchat. You hear it in conversations at school and sometimes even in your own head. “Why am I alive? Why am I here? What’s the purpose of life?”
The answer is startling in its simplicity and complexity. You were created to know and worship God. Your greatest purpose in life is to have an intimate relationship with God, to become more like Jesus, and to allow the Holy Spirit to live inside you.
But what does that actually look like in your life?
There are several steps you can take to know, love, and serve God better.
A first step to building a relationship with God is connecting to him in prayer. There aren’t any rules or complicated rituals—just talk to him.You can do this by yourself or with a group. What matters is that you open up your heart and that you’re honest.
A second step to knowing, loving, and serving God is reading his Word, the Bible. The Bible shows you the character of God as well as the incredible story of his love for you. Within these words, you will learn how to know and follow him.
A third step is to live out this relationship in your actions. As you pray and read God’s Word, he will place people in your life that you can love and serve—people to whom you can reflect him.
So, when everything comes together, it looks something like this: (1) you pray; (2) you read your Bible; and (3) God places people in your life for you to love and serve. As simple as this sounds, it’s the key to how we discover God. It’s also the key to how we ultimately discover our true identity, our purpose, and the meaning of life.
Ask God to reveal himself to you through his Word.