34 min
Life’s Big Questions: Why am I here? The Abundant Life with Brandon Kelley
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- Christianity
In week 2 of Life’s Big Questions, we consider the question of meaning and purpose. It’s the question that seems to chase us throughout our lives as teenagers, young adults, and for many, it continues to chase us as we grow older. What question is that? Why am I here? What is the meaning and purpose of life?
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The seats in the back of cop cars are not comfortable. At all.
They don’t have any cushions, no leather, they are just hard plastic. Needless to say, it’s not a fun place to be—the back of a cop car.
Some parts of that night I remember vividly. Other parts are foggy.
We had gotten pulled over in Fort Wayne. And the next thing I knew, I was somewhere I never thought I’d be. I was worried. I was scared. What would my dad say? What would my mom say when she found out?
Did I mention those seats were uncomfortable?
It’s dark. It’s late. And we’re driving down N. Anthony Blvd. The view of familiar places becomes altered when you’re sitting in the back of one of those cars.
What would my dad say? Well, I didn’t have to wonder about what my dad would say for very long. Because I was taken back to his house. Yes, I wasn’t arrested. But my step-mom at the time was. She had a warrant for something minor if I remember correctly. And I was with her while we were on our way to the store or something.
Here’s the point: Why we are where we are matters.
Why I was there mattered. The why of my location impacted the purpose and the significance of that moment.
Why am I here?
And that brings us to this week’s big life question: why am I here?
When you’ve asked that question, maybe you didn’t word it that way. There’s all kinds of ways to ask it:
* What is the meaning of life? What’s it all about? Who are we?
Why are we here? What are we here for?* What is the origin of life?* What is the nature of life? What is the nature of reality?* What is the purpose of life? What is the purpose of one’s life?* What is the significance of life?* What is meaningful and valuable in life?* What is the value of life?* What is the reason to live? What are we living for?
When you boil it down, when we ask the question, why am I here? we are yearning for an answer to the meaning of life.
And meaning really has two parts to it. (1) purpose and (2) significance.
In other words, we’re asking, is there an intent to our existence and do our lives, does our very existence have any meaning beyond ourselves? Is our existence a piece of a bigger story? Are we a part of a grander narrative?
3/4 of the World Thinks About This Question
It has been shown that nearly 3/4 of the people around the globe think about the meaning of life on a regular basis.
And since most of the people in the world are thinking about the meaning of life and asking some version of the why am I here? question, it’s reasonable to assume that there will be an assortment of answers offered.
Answers to the meaning of life
In week 2 of Life’s Big Questions, we consider the question of meaning and purpose. It’s the question that seems to chase us throughout our lives as teenagers, young adults, and for many, it continues to chase us as we grow older. What question is that? Why am I here? What is the meaning and purpose of life?
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe on Stitcher
The seats in the back of cop cars are not comfortable. At all.
They don’t have any cushions, no leather, they are just hard plastic. Needless to say, it’s not a fun place to be—the back of a cop car.
Some parts of that night I remember vividly. Other parts are foggy.
We had gotten pulled over in Fort Wayne. And the next thing I knew, I was somewhere I never thought I’d be. I was worried. I was scared. What would my dad say? What would my mom say when she found out?
Did I mention those seats were uncomfortable?
It’s dark. It’s late. And we’re driving down N. Anthony Blvd. The view of familiar places becomes altered when you’re sitting in the back of one of those cars.
What would my dad say? Well, I didn’t have to wonder about what my dad would say for very long. Because I was taken back to his house. Yes, I wasn’t arrested. But my step-mom at the time was. She had a warrant for something minor if I remember correctly. And I was with her while we were on our way to the store or something.
Here’s the point: Why we are where we are matters.
Why I was there mattered. The why of my location impacted the purpose and the significance of that moment.
Why am I here?
And that brings us to this week’s big life question: why am I here?
When you’ve asked that question, maybe you didn’t word it that way. There’s all kinds of ways to ask it:
* What is the meaning of life? What’s it all about? Who are we?
Why are we here? What are we here for?* What is the origin of life?* What is the nature of life? What is the nature of reality?* What is the purpose of life? What is the purpose of one’s life?* What is the significance of life?* What is meaningful and valuable in life?* What is the value of life?* What is the reason to live? What are we living for?
When you boil it down, when we ask the question, why am I here? we are yearning for an answer to the meaning of life.
And meaning really has two parts to it. (1) purpose and (2) significance.
In other words, we’re asking, is there an intent to our existence and do our lives, does our very existence have any meaning beyond ourselves? Is our existence a piece of a bigger story? Are we a part of a grander narrative?
3/4 of the World Thinks About This Question
It has been shown that nearly 3/4 of the people around the globe think about the meaning of life on a regular basis.
And since most of the people in the world are thinking about the meaning of life and asking some version of the why am I here? question, it’s reasonable to assume that there will be an assortment of answers offered.
Answers to the meaning of life
34 min