Who Am I? Why Am I Here?

1 Corinthians 13

Who am I and why am I here? Those are questions that every thinking person considers some time in their life. Who am I? Why am I here? And those are the two questions that are particularly in front of you guys at this particular time in your life. So you might not be thinking about it in the terms of who am I and why am I here. But you’re thinking things like what’s high school going to be like? Am I going to be able to find my niche? Am I going to be able to excel in the areas where I’m talented? Am I going to figure out where the areas are that I’m talented in? What about after high school? Should I go to college? Should I go to trade school? Should I go into the workforce? When you boil it down, what is it? It’s who am I and why am I here? And the text that’s in front of us today has a whole bunch of really cool stuff to say to us about who I am and why I’m here. The obvious big point of this text is the word love, right? So what exactly does love mean? You know, in English, we use the word love all kinds of ways. I can say I love pizza. I love the Bucks. I love my kids. I love my wife. I love Jesus. It’s all the same word. I hope when I say I love Jesus and I love my wife that I mean something different than when I say I love pizza. Right? Absolutely. And the Greek language helps us because in the Greek language, there are three major words for love. And the one that’s used here in our text, it can be used kind of generically and broadly, but oftentimes it’s used for a love of the will. In other words, not the mushy gushy Hallmark wedding card thing, but that it’s a love that says I choose to love you even though you’re not lovable. It’s this Greek word for love. Agape is the Greek word. Some of you have probably heard it. Agape is the word for love that’s used in Romans 5.8 when it says this. But God demonstrates his love agape for us in this while we were still sinners. Christ died for us. God did not look at you and me and say, oh, you guys just look so good. I just love you to death. Instead, what God did is he looked at you and me and he said, you are a mess. You’re selfish. You’re angry. You’re not patient. You’re not kind. You’re boastful. You’re rude. All the things talked about in the text about what love is. We’ve exhibited every single opposite trait. So what God should have said about you and me as he should have said about Adam and Eve. Is you deserve to be sent to hell forever? But can you imagine? God didn’t do that. Instead, what God did is he chose to love you. And how much did he choose to love you? So much that he became a little baby wrapped in cloth, lying in a manger so that he could grow into adulthood, go to a cross, and die to pay for your son. Oh, and by the way, who is that that’s loving you that much? It’s the almighty God. It’s the God who created the whole world with saying, let there be really nice answer on that one. By the way, all he did was say, let there be, and boom, there it is. How much power would that take to say, you know, I want there to be a son, and all of a sudden there it is. How much power is that? Yeah, mind-boggling and that God chooses to love you. And if I may be so bold in my opinion, that is the most important answer to the question, who am I? The most important answer to the question, who am I, is that I am a beloved child of the most high God. That is your real identity, mine too, and every one of yours. That the only identity at the end of the day that really matters is where we stand with God. Well, why can we say that for sure? Because that same Greek word agape that’s used in this text is the word that God uses to describe himself. God is love. God is love. And God has chosen to love you. And so again, the most important thing that you can know in regards to your identity is that you are a beloved son or daughter of the most high God. Could there be anything better than that? I just can’t. What about that second question, the why am I here question? To boil it down, we’re here to be reflectors of God’s love. Or to say it a little differently, we are to be little Christs in the world. That’s what the word Christian means, by the way. It means little Christ because you’ve been covered with Jesus. You get to call yourself a Christian that God is saying you are a little Jesus. You are a little Christ. And what becomes your life’s purpose? To reflect Jesus’s love. To be what God was. If God is love, that means we can reread our text. And we can take out the word love and we can put in the word God. Makes sense? So we could look at this and say God is patient. God is kind. God does not envy. God does not boast. God is not proud, etc., etc. And all those things about love are the things that God is and the things that God shows to you. And now in wonderful grace, God says to you, now reflect those things to the people around you. Show patience. Show kindness. Push away impatience or jealousy or anger. Trust God with all your heart. Be reliable. Just like God never fails, show up. And that becomes your life. And that becomes your purpose in life. My purpose in life, our purpose in life, is to do that. To reflect God’s love. And that’s why you’re here. Now understanding those two things is really, really cool. Why? Because number one, it takes a whole ton of pressure off. No matter what high school you choose, no matter if you choose to go college, trade school, workforce, or something else, how will God feel about you? He’ll love you. So which of those things can you choose? Any of them that make sense? And God will love you dearly no matter what. And no matter which of those options you take, and no matter where God chooses to guide and direct you in your life, you’re going to get to be able to show love to others. You’re going to get to exhibit patience and kindness and push away jealousy and anger and etc. Oh, you’ll not do it perfectly. That’s why we have Jesus. We go back to Jesus over and over again and how he died for us and how he rose for us. But you get to do that. Which means no matter what you choose to do with your life, if you are reflecting Jesus’ love, your life is filled with meaning and purpose and it’s really, really important. In fact, God describes it as the greatest. Why? Because when you get to heaven, you aren’t going to need faith anymore. At least not in this sense. You’re not going to need to trust the God who you can’t see or trust that your sins are forgiven, even though you know you’re a sinner. Because in heaven you’ll see with your own eyes. You will know in full. In heaven you won’t have to hope anymore. Because you’ll be experiencing glory. You’ll have the reality. You don’t have to look forward to it anymore. But you know what will remain? Love. God’s love for you will go for all of eternity. It will never, ever end. And in heaven we’ll get to reflect that love of God to each other absolutely, perfectly, without any sin getting in the way ever. Who am I? Why am I here? I am a beloved child of the Most High God. Put here on earth to reflect his wonderful love to others until that glorious day when he takes me home to be with him forever. My prayer for you is that you remember who you are and why you’re here. Until that glorious day when we join each other forever in heaven. Amen? And amen.