Our Purpose on Earth

Thursday, 24th January 2008

Have you ever been asked the question, "What is a Christian's purpose here on earth?"

Those who do not subscribe to the prosperity or health gospel would say "To suffer now, so that we can enjoy a better life later." We of course know that Jesus wants us to live an superabundant life, right here on earth - and that includes being in good health and having the means to bless others.

And then, there are also other "spiritual" folks who say "To glorify and worship God." Sure, there is an element of truth there, but when we go to heaven, we can do likewise.

Yet others will say that it is build up the Body of Christ, especially in the last days. After all, the writer of Hebrews told us not to stop meeting together, and even more so when we see the day approaching (Heb 10:25)

So what is the Christian's purpose here on earth then? Put it another way. What is it that we can do here on earth that we cannot do in heaven? We can enjoy life here and enjoy life in heaven. We can worship God here and worship God in heaven. We can have fellowship with other believers here on earth, and similarly in heaven.

There is one thing however that we can do while here on earth, that we cannot do when we move on to the afterlife. And that is to reach out to pre-believers. When we begin to understand this, suddenly witnessing, missions and evangelism take on more importance and a higher priority in our life.

I was blessed to be born in a Christian family, so I took access to the gospel for granted. As a kid, I went to Sunday School and heard stories about Moses, David, Daniel, and of course Jesus. At the age of 12, after several years when the seed was sown, and the ground was ready, I made the wonderful decision to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour at the Billy Graham Crusade in December 1979.

Nine years later, the Lord would lead me to a classmate who although already a Christian, was born in a non-Christian family. As I courted her and we got married in 1992, I was exposed to a world that I was not aware of, having grown up in a "sheltered" environment. I felt a certain sense of discomfort whenever I saw idols, or ancestral tablets, or the food being offered to them, and even hearing the chanting of Taoist monks at the funerals of my maternal grandparents-in-law.

But looking back, I realise that the Lord was preparing me, and making me more aware of the spiritual battle for the souls of men. It was first my wife who accepted the Lord back in 1979. Then it was her younger brother. And then it was her parents in 2006. And then her elder brother came back to the Lord. I was seeing Acts 16:31 coming to pass right before my very eyes!

What I have come to realise is that our God is not a God of any single individual, but He is a God of households. When He sent the flood, He saved Noah and his household. When He called Abraham and pronounced His blessings upon him, it was not just upon him but upon all his seed. When Paul led the Philippi jailer to the Lord, salvation was not just upon him but upon his entire household.

God wants entire families to be saved, and the testimony of such a family is awesome! My previous cluster leader has one such amazing story to tell on this.

Where God has placed us and the people we come into contact with is what is known as our oikos. God does not want anyone to perish but all to come to repentence. As such, our purpose here on earth is to be His agent to plant the seed of the gospel into the lives of pre-believers who are in our oikos, be they family members, or relatives, or classmates or colleagues. And when that one relative, or classmate or colleague accepts the Lord, he or she opens the door for others in his or her household to likewise receive salvation, until the entire household is saved!

So while on this earth, let us be His witnesses and ambassadors to draw others into the Kingdom, and mutiply the numbers that cross over from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His marvelous Light. Then, and only then are we ready to move on from this life and say like Paul said, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race." Amen?