Origin and Destiny

Origin and Destiny

All the people in the world are travelling somewhere. We have all come from a source and are heading for a destination. We have an origin and also an end. The two most important questions in life are: "Where did I come from, and where am I going?” At some time, in some way, everyone asks these questions. People are born, and then they die. Many have come, and many have gone. We ourselves have come, and now we are here, but we are also going, and one day we will die.

Most people have some ideas about all of these things. (You know that you came from your mother and your father. But where did they come from? What is the source of all the people? And where are we going? The answers you have for these questions will give you your purpose and meaning for your life, so they are very important things to think about.)

Some people hold that every person originates from (comes from) an ancestor’s spirit. According to these people, after everyone dies, they come back to life or "reincarnate." (They come back to life in a different form or body - perhaps as a human; but if they had been bad before, they might come back as an animal or even as an insect!) These people think that when they are in this new body, they are being guided by the spirit of ancestors, and at death their spirit will become reunited with the spirits of the ancestors in a spirit realm. Well, these ideas don't really explain where people come from to begin with (--where did all the first ancestors come from?), or where we are going at the end.

Other people think that we evolved (developed) from some cells to become (more complicated forms of life like) apes or monkeys, and finally, (these turned into) human beings. In this view, man came into being by accident or by chance. (There was no plan at all.) (Many people find that hard to believe, because most chance happenings are not good. Things do not get better and better all by themselves.) Man is also left with no clear origin. (How did the first cells, which are very complex, begin?) And the individual has no future to look forward to, except to die.

(But these are only people's ideas. The Bible, God’s book, says that the God who made us also has a plan for us. We did not happen by chance, and we are not going to come back to live on this earth again, after we die. We have only one life and only one death. The Bible says, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”)

(The Bible tells us that we are wonderfully made, and scientific studies also tell us that the human person is a wonderful and complicated creation. The man who wrote the Psalms in the Bible thought about himself and said, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." He could see that his own body is so complex that surely, he didn't just happen. Someone planned and made him. That Person was God. When he thought about the world and all the creatures in it, he knew that he should thank and praise God for everything.)

The Bible (, God’s book,) tells us very important things about the beginning. It tells us that God created the heavens and earth and everything in them. (It says, “For every house has a builder; but the builder of all things is God.” God made everything in the whole universe. The world did not happen by chance, and it will not go on forever.)

God also made people. He made us in a very special way. (He made us "in His image." This means that we were made to be like God. He is the Creator, and he made us to be creative. He has a plan for His world, and he made us able to plan things, including our lives.) God gave man the responsibility of taking charge of the world. The Bible says, "God created people in His image; God patterned them after Himself; He made them male and female." The Bible says, "And the Lord God formed a man's body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person."

The Bible also tells us that God is active now in keeping the world going. "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made things we can see and things we can't see, kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through Him and for Him. He existed before everything else began, and He holds all creation together."

But the Bible also tells us how man rebelled against God's loving rule. (The first man, Adam, disobeyed God.) Even now, we spoil the world and even our own lives. This is because we do not follow God as we should. This is the effect that the fall of man has had on the human race and the whole creation. The entire human race is sinful, as the Bible tells us, "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard."

God could not ignore this. His judgment on people's disobedience was that they would have to die. So death comes to everyone. (If we lived in perfect harmony with God, we would live happy lives with Him forever. But now death exists because of sin.) The Bible tells us that when Adam (, the first man,) sinned, “sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone has sinned." Death is God's punishment for sin. And the Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death."

Not only do all people have to die, but also, one day, God will judge the whole world. On the day of judgment, God will destroy the old world, as the Bible tells us, "And God has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish." So because of the fall of man, both mankind and the universe are doomed.

Is that all? Is there no way out for people? No. Sin did not defeat God's plan for His world. God still loved His world, even though they have rebelled against Him. So He provided a way out for them. He provided salvation by sending His Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God's wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam's one sin brought condemnation upon everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness makes all people right in God's sight and gives them life."

We need to think about death in two ways: physical and spiritual. Physical death is separation from the world and from man. Spiritual death is separation from God, though physically one may still be alive. All of mankind must suffer physical death. Not all will suffer spiritual death. For God has been most gracious to man. He has provided the way to free man from sin and its punishment. He loves the sinner so He sent Jesus Christ to the world to live here and take our punishment for us by dying for our sins. The Bible tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." (That is a great promise. You can accept that promise for yourself, if you wish to. If we accept Jesus as our Savior, we can have that eternal life God planned for us.) The Bible also says, "But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." And it tells us, "The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Those who trust that the Lord Jesus Christ died for them, not only have their sins forgiven and forgotten, but are also given the right to become children of God. The Bible says, "But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God." God’s children in His own family may die physically, but they will remain alive spiritually. When the day of God’s judgment comes, their bodies will be resurrected. At the resurrection, they will be reunited with other believers, and be ushered into the Kingdom of God, where they will enjoy eternity together with the Lord forever. What a wonderful destination!

But those who reject Jesus Christ, God's only way and offer for salvation, although today they may be alive physically, are really living corpses. When they eventually die they will have died in a double way; for they will not only be separated from the world and from man, but also they will be separated from God forever. The picture the Bible gives us of this is terrible. It says that at the resurrection of the dead, they will be judged, and they will be cast into the lake of fire, along with Satan, God’s enemy, for eternity. What a terrible destiny!

In everything, the Bible's explanation makes far more sense than other views about man’s origin and destiny, and gives us great purpose in life. We are specially made by the Infinite God who is from eternity to eternity, the Creator of the earth, the heavens, and the universe, because He wants us to love Him and live with Him forever.

(What difference does all this make to your life? If you believe that you will keep coming back to life on earth again and again, this life becomes meaningless. Often in life, we cannot control the things that happen to us, and many bad things happen. God promises, not that we will come back and live it all over again, but that when His judgment comes, He will make everything right, fair and just. Without that promise, life is meaningless - we have no control over where we are born, the family we come into, or many of the things that happen to us. But if we know that God is in control and will make everything right, we can live in confidence. We can talk to God as our Heavenly Father, and He will hear us. The Bible says we can have confidence that "all things are working together for the good of those who love God, and who are called according to His purpose.")

God loves all mankind, dear friends, but He also loves you personally, and offers you this free gift, eternal life in Jesus Christ. Please put your trust in Him now, and you will be saved. Now is the time for salvation. Any other time or day could be too late. So come to Jesus now. You need to tell God that you are sorry you have not lived His way. Tell Him you want to turn your life around and give it to Him. Tell him you believe Jesus died for your sins, and you want Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord.

If you come to Jesus now, today God will be your Father, and the Kingdom of God will be your eternal destination.

(Heb. 9:27) (Psa. 139:14) (Heb 3:4) Genesis 1: 27 Genesis 2:7 Colossians 1:15-17 Romans 3:23 Romans 5:12, 17-18; 6:23a
II Peter 3:7 Romans 5:12, 6:23a John 3:16 Romans 6:23b