Why Were We Created?
Why did God, knowing that man would fall and rebel against Him, create us?
Sure, we all would say that we were created to give Him glory (SOLI DEO GLORIA!!), but that’s the easy answer. Did he need us to be glorious?
He is/was already glorious.
He didn’t need us.
He wasn’t lacking in glory, or in love. In fact, He is love.
He wasn’t missing out on anything.
I had a man ask me this question recently, and my answer, i believe, was lacking.
I gave him some philosophical mumbo-jumbo I read in a C.S. Lewis book about how the stars are out all day but you can’t see them in all their glory until it’s dark out. In the same way God’s glory shines brighter when sin is contrasted against it.
While Lewis is a deep and rich theologian, this answer is not sufficient.
It implies that God needed a contrast for His glory.
God has no need.
But then, the same day that I was asked about why God created us, our pastor, Tony, taught on the very subject!
I sat down to hear what the lesson would be, and to my astonishment, he started the Wednesday night service by asking, “Why would God create us, knowing that we would fall?”
I couldn’t believe it.
As Bro. Tony talked about the washing of the disciples’ feet in John 13, he asked, “why did Jesus wash their feet? Sure, He loved them, but was that His main reason?
No. He even said himself that He only does what He sees the Father do.”
Jesus even claims that His food is to do the will of His Father (John 4:34)!
Jesus washed their feet to show His love/obedience to the Father.
Now get ready for this next bit, cause it is still blowing my mind!
Creation is simply the vehicle for the Son to show His love to the Father.
Salvation is the means for the Spirit of God to awaken believers to see and hear and give Him glory!
Creation is just the overflow of Trinitarian love of the persons of God, one for another!
And He should love God.
No one is more worthy of love.
If He were to elevate someone to more worthy, He would no longer be God.
What better way for the Son to show love to the Father than to humbly serve His fallen, broken, wicked, wrath-deserving creation?!
(mind blown yet?)
Christ loves us because He loves the Father first and most.
We are to do the same.
I will love my wife and daughter better by loving God first and most.
It is incredible that Christ’s love for the Father is great enough to spill over into the creation of mankind so that He might display His love for the Father by serving and dying for creation!
To clarify, God does love us very much, but it is not about us or for us. It is about His glory and for Him (Isaiah 43:7).
As for the guy who asked me the question initially about our creation, I went and found him the next morning, first thing, to share this exciting epiphany.
He was amazed at the “coincidence” (i don’t believe in coincidence) and even showed me the hairs standing and chill bumps on his arms.