Purpose

In the midst of a discussion about Christian liberty, Paul throws in this thought.

For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth -- as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords" -- yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Cor 8:5-6)

Okay, now, hang on, Paul. What does this have to do with Christian liberty? How does this speak to the idea that we are free to do what we think is right in those things that God has not commanded or denied? I think we find in here, first, the fundamental concept that Paul was trying to get across in the whole thought and, second, the fundamental concept for all Christian living.

The question at hand is regarding what Christians can and cannot do. Paul approaches it from the example of eating food offered to idols (1 Cor 8:1), but it's just an example. He addresses the specific question -- food offered to idols -- by addressing idols in general. Idols are not real (1 Cor 8:4). There is no God but one. Obviously, then, eating food offered to idols is no more of a moral question than eating food offered to dragons. They don't exist. Fine. But then Paul throws in this reality, a principle that should guide in all other such questions. We worship God as the only God. We have one Lord, Christ, as the only Lord. And what does Paul say about Him? Everything comes from Him and everything comes through Him. What does Paul conclude about these two facts? Therefore, everything exists for Him and everything exists through Him.

Most of this is "normal" stuff. We know that "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." (Rom 11:36) We know that "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (Col 1:17) The one thing we appear to miss so much of the time is that other preposition -- "for." In this text he says, "for whom we exist." In Colossians he says, "All things were created through Him and for Him." (Col 1:16) So while we're pretty sure He is the Creator and Sustainer, somehow we miss that He is the point, the purpose, the aim. Not one of us exists for ourselves; we exist for Him.

Why do I think we miss this? Because of the quite common response among believers when something unpleasant occurs. A family member gets cancer. A loved one dies young. Or old. We don't get that job we were praying for. We don't get the answer to prayer we were asking for. What is our response? "How could a loving God allow this?!" These things shake our faith and cause us not merely to ask questions -- not a problem in itself -- but to challenge God's character ... or even existence. Why? Because we think somehow that it's about us. We think that we deserve better. We think, perhaps only at the back of our minds, that God owes us. He owes us comfort and pleasure and ... well ... whatever we want. Because it's all about us. And Paul is saying here, "No, it's not."

We owe our existence to God. we owe every day that we continue to breathe to God. As Creator and Sustainer, He owns all things. And that includes you and that includes me. We don't exist for our pleasure; we exist for Him. You might be able to see, then, how that changes the question of Christian liberty. It's not about "What can I do?" It's about "How can I please Him?" It's not about "my rights" and "my pleasures" and "my comfort." It's about advancing God's plans, God's pleasures, God's will. And that changes everything. That is an entirely different purpose statement than that of the rest of the world. For the rest of the world the basic purpose statement is "Me first." What is yours?