by Dr. Nella Ann Roberts
Have you ever asked yourself, “Why am I here on this earth?” Many of us have, and we come up with different answers. Whatever we think of ourselves and our lives, we are all here for a purpose. Our purpose is our reason for being here. There are no accidents in this well-orchestrated universe that is controlled by Almighty God. Your life on earth is no accident. God has you here for a purpose. It is very important that you know what this purpose is because this can help you live a better life. I believe our purpose is to live consciously with God, to love, to learn, and to glorify God.
When God created man, he did so because he wanted man to live with him. He created man in his own image and likeness, spiritually. By breathing his breath or spirit into man, God ensured that man is part of him and that wherever man goes, God is. God loves us so much that he manifested himself in the form of Jesus Christ to teach us how to live. Jesus further demonstrated his love for us when he died for us, but rose from the grave and lives forevermore.
God also created man to love him, to love himself, and to love others for we are all part of him. As parts of God or members of God’s family, we were given commandments to live by. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). He also said that the second greatest commandment is, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39).
Notice that the Bible said that we are to love ourselves. It is sad that some people do not love themselves at times. As you know and remember who and whose you truly are, you will love yourself more. When you truly love yourself, you will think differently, speak differently, and act differently, and it will become easier to love your neighbors.
You will think more highly of yourself knowing that you are part of God. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). When you realize that God lives not only in you, but also in others, you will think about them differently. You will say better things about yourself and others and speak blessings over your lives.
Your thoughts and words influence your actions and as you think and speak about yourself and others differently, you will treat yourself and others differently. You will take time for yourself and do special things for yourself and others. You will take time for your spirit, develop your mind, and take better care of your body. You will engage in spiritual practices more often, live more consciously with God and others, and spend quality time with them.
As we love ourselves more, we may be better equipped to deal with our neighbors. Our neighbors are not just those who live near us, but also those who are around us at various times who, like us, are part of God. As part of God, we are all spiritual beings in human bodies, and most of us are surrounded by many neighbors.
Additionally, as spiritual beings, we produce spiritual fruits, the greatest of which is love. When you love someone, you do things for them; you serve them in various ways. When Jesus asked Peter if he loved him and Peter said that he did, Jesus told him to feed his sheep, meaning his followers. Jesus was telling Peter one of the ways that he wanted him to demonstrate his love for him, and that was by serving him. As Mother Teresa reminded us, “The fruit of love is service.”
How do we serve? First, we learn to do different things, and then we do them for others and to others. We learn in different ways—for example, in formal educational settings, informally in social settings, through self-directed learning, by reading, by listening, by observation, and through doing various other things. The faster we learn, the better our lives tend to be.
Learning can be exciting and deeply fulfilling, especially when you enjoy what you learn. Learning can also be challenging as we go through various experiences in life, as some people discover during transformative learning. We are also here to learn about God, ourselves, life, and how to develop ourselves for success. As we learn and apply what we learn, we become better at what we do and eventually more successful.
In addition to living with God, loving, and learning, we are also here to glorify God. According to the Bible, God created man for his glory (Is. 43:7). As the apostle Paul advised, whatever we do, we should do it unto God and not unto man, and we should do it to glorify God. It doesn’t matter if what we do is great or small, we can do it to the glory of God. As we try to do this, we will become people of excellence, be more successful, and fulfill our purpose. Take some time and focus on your purpose and on ways in which you can be more passionate about it. Knowing our purpose explains the meaning of our lives and helps us to live better lives.
Dr. Nella Ann Roberts is an author and human resource development specialist who is very passionate about God. Her mission is to help others develop themselves for success and make a difference in the world. Dr. Roberts is the author of Transform Your Life: 7 Steps to a Better Life. For more information about Dr. Roberts and her work, go to www.DrNellaAnnRoberts.com.
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