Why Did God Create People?
God Created Us in His Image
God chose to make humankind in His image.
Because so many believe in the theory of evolution, many think that humans are simply better-developed animals. In our public schools, pupils are taught that man evolved from the lower animals, and that all of life developed over a vast expanse of time from a single life form that came into being from an unknown origin. Yet, this theory is being hotly challenged more and more in the scientific community.
One reason so many will subscribe to the theory of evolution is not because they have honestly researched it or have become intellectually convinced. They believe it because they think that it relieves them of responsibility before a holy God.
Yet, the Bible attributes the origin of man to an act of direct creation by God: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7 NKJV). But why did God create us?
God Wanted Us (but doesn’t need us)
God created us because He wanted us. Our lives are not some meaningless creation made by a disinterested Creator. But God did not need us. Though a perhaps heart-warming sentiment, He did not create mankind because He found Himself lonely.
God is independent of humanity and does not need creation for anything: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.” (Acts 17:24–25 NKJV).
No one has contributed to God anything that did not first come from the God who created all things. God asked Job, “Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under Heaven is Mine” (Job 41:11 NKJV). And in Psalm 50:10–11, we read, “For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine” (NKJV).
God Also Cares for Us (and chooses to)
Yet, even though God does not need us, He is still intensely interested in our lives.
He deeply and tenderly loves us beyond comprehension—not because He has to (out of need), but because He chooses to (out of love). Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (NKJV). And Romans 5:8 says, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (NLT).
We Exist to Bring God Glory and Pleasure
The twenty-four elders in the Book of Revelation reveal why we are on this earth to begin with: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created” (Revelation 4:11 NKJV).
Many people are living to bring themselves glory and pleasure. But if you live for pleasure, you will never find it (see 1 Timothy 5:6). Living for personal pleasure is actually one of the least pleasurable things we can do; it’s been said that the best cure for hedonism is an attempt to practice it.
The ultimate objective is the glory of God, everything else is secondary.
We shouldn’t live to be happy, but holy. Don’t live to find fulfillment, live to bring God glory. And the wonderful thing about that is, when you get your priorities in order, you will find what you’re looking for; if you seek to be holy, you will end up happy, if you seek to bring glory to God, ultimately you will find pleasure. The Bible says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11 NKJV).
You will not find fulfillment in seeking it, but seeking God. God created us for His glory (see Isaiah 43:7, 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, 1 Corinthians 10:31).
