Three Questions About

the Existence of Man

by Thurman C. Petty, Jr.

The reasons for our existence have puzzled people throughout history. From the ancient pyramid builders of Egypt to the scientists of NASA, generations have struggled with three basic issues: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?

All of us need to solve these dilemmas in order to live successful and happy lives. Nations have invested billions of dollars in search of clues to aid in answering these questions. Philosophers have written millions of words seeking to reason through to some sensible conclusion that would satisfy their inquiring minds.

Yet the majority of those who have lived on this planet have little conception of where they came from, why they are here, and where they are going. But the true answers have existed for thousands of years, inspired by the Creator Himself, and recorded in the first three chapters of your Bible. A careful study of these few verses will erase all doubt concerning the aims of life and will help each individual to peace and happiness.

The first question―"Where did we come from?"―finds its answer in Genesis 1:1:

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

God began with nothing and created a world―in fact, an entire solar system. We can't answer every question that comes to our scientifically oriented minds as to how God constructed a solar system in just six twenty-four-hour days. We don't know how He caused the earth to appear as though a mature planet, with fully grown trees and animals and with rocks that would, perhaps, already measure an age of millions of years by twenty-first century geological instruments. But it's not necessary to understand every detail in order to accept Gods credibility.

The author of Genesis describes our Maker as calling forth light on the first day (Genesis 1:3-5). Then He condensed the vapors into oceans and created the atmosphere on the second day (Genesis 1:6-8). The third day witnessed the appearance of dry land and the proliferated growth of all vegetation. God reveals that, rather than planting each seed with His own hand, He simply spoke, and the vegetation grew swiftly out of virgin soil. By the end of the day the earth had become a lush garden, filled with numerous varieties of plant life (Genesis 1:9-13). God waited until the fourth day to actually form the sun, moon, and other planets of our solar system―and to reveal the stars of our Universe (Genesis 1:14-19). On the fifth day He created all water life and the birds (Genesis 1:20-23). God caused land animals to appear on the sixth day. He seems to have simply spoken these creatures into existence, for He later contrasts the formation of these animals with His creation of human beings.

Rather than call man into existence by speaking the word, God lovingly

"formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).

The Creator caused Adam to sleep, and, taking one of his ribs, God used this to form a woman to be his companion (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:18-24). Then the two of them surveyed the world God had given them and all the wildlife as well.

One surprising aspect of Creation comes from the completely unpredictable events of the seventh day. The record indicates that God rested on the seventh day. Surely He had not become physically, mentally, or spiritually weary from creating the earth. So His rest could not have been for the purpose of regaining strength.

No, instead He paused in His busy schedule of creating to admire the works of His hands. The creatures of His new world paused to rejoice with Him in this memorial of His making the world in six days. And the author of Job describes the inhabitants of the already-existing universe as participating in the celebration of the day, for

"the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7).

Where did we come from? The question has been adequately answered in the first two chapters of Genesis: We were created by the God of Heaven Who made us to be partakers of His heavenly inheritance.

Our second question―"Why are we here?"―also finds a clear explanation in the first chapters of Genesis. The Bible writer quotes the words of God Himself, indicating His purpose for bringing man into existence:

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" (Genesis 1:26).

God created man in order to give him dominion of the earth. But dominion is not ownership; dominion is the responsibility of taking care of property belonging to someone else. And the Creator wished to have the human race manage the earth and everything in it.

God spent tremendous amounts of energy in constructing a lavish paradise, and He needed a caretaker. So God made man in His own image―someone who can reason as God does, who has similar moral scruples, and who can understand and execute God's intentions. Man also resembled His Creator in body as well as in character.

So that man could be a good superintendent, God supplied him with an intelligent mind. No mere robot could manage the myriads of details the Creator had set into motion. And God allowed man complete freedom to run the planet as he saw fit. The Eternal had no desire to put Adam at a disadvantage in pursuing his work or to make it necessary for him to have every detail dictated from God's throne.

The natural corollary of the fact that God created everything is that He also owns everything. He created human beings to be caretakers of His world. The earth still belongs to God, and He still desires human beings to manage all that He places within their control.

Everything in our possession actually belongs to God. Our houses, our cars, furniture, toothbrushes, clothing, TVs, shoes, bicycles, computers, telephones, food, and even our very bodies could rightly be stamped, "Property of God: Use Only as Directed."

God wanted to teach this vital precept to Adam and to his children in a way that they would never forget. So He reserved one tree in the Garden for His own private use and requested that His managers leave the tree completely alone: "Don't taste of its fruit," He said. "Leave My tree alone!" (Genesis 2:17, paraphrase).

An obedient caretaker would realize that the Owner has every right to reserve any tree in the world as His very own private tree and then fully respect His decision.

But Adam and Eve seem to have taken leave of their senses. They chose to disregard the Owners regulations. Something about Gods tree attracted their attention. They coveted it. They knew it belonged to God and realized their duty to leave it alone. Since God had provided their every need, they had no physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional reason for taking the fruit from Gods tree. But with the aid of a wily serpent they manufactured an excuse to partake of the forbidden fruit.

God saw that He couldn't trust them as managers of this world, so He fired them and threw them out of the Garden of Eden. This act separated them from ready access to the tree of life. Had they eaten of the tree of life they would have lived forever as immortal sinners, without aging or contracting any disease―but existing in sin and misery. Because God could not trust them, He separated them from the source of eternal life. He drove them out of the Garden to carve out an existence from the land as best they could.

Without the fruit of the tree of life they couldn't live forever. So they had no natural immortality to pass on to their children. Death, as we know it, has been the lot of every child of Adam, for it exists as the outcome of man's failure to perform faithfully as manager of Planet Earth.

So why are we here? Because God placed us here to take care of His world. Yes, we failed to manage it as He requested and were dispossessed. Today we suffer the results of a departure from His plan. But God still desires us to manage all that He has seen fit to place within our hands.

The final question―"Where are we going?"―actually has two answers. The first is found in Genesis 3:19:

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

We've already seen that since man couldn't be trusted with eternal life, God withdrew the gift. When the gift of life wears out, man can no longer exist; his life ends, and his body returns to the elements of which it was originally composed―dust and air.

If this were our only destiny, we might have a reason to despair and to feel that God didn't really give us a fair opportunity. But that doesn't completely answer question three. God has made provision through Jesus to give us eternal life. He wants to give us an opportunity to succeed as His managers even though our first parents failed. And that's the substance of the message of Genesis 3:15:

"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

This curse placed upon the serpent actually promises us a second chance. A woman in Bible prophecy represents God's people, or in modern terms, His church (Jeremiah 6:2; Isaiah 51:16), and the serpent represents the devil (Revelation 12:9). God intends to end the tyranny of Satan by means of His church, which is founded upon Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18). He wants to reorganize the world again according to its original charter, with God as Owner and man as its keeper and caretaker. This would involve humiliation, danger, and the cross of Calvary on His part in order to make it possible for man to have a second chance. But God was willing to do it because He loves us and knows that some will accept His offer and become faithful superintendents of His world.

So where are we going? That depends on whether or not we willingly become part of the God/man combine for the preservation of Planet Earth according to its original charter. If we cooperate with God in managing His goods now; if we remember that everything on earth belongs to Him, that before we utilize any of His merchandise, we must consult with Him; then we can expect to be appointed managers in His new world of the future.

The important question is not can we trust God. Of course we can trust Him! But can God trust us to be faithful stewards? We sank into sin by being untrustworthy caretakers. We can become faithful managers only through a continual connection with the Owner―Jesus Christ our Lord. It is only through Jesus that we can achieve success in this life. . . and in the next.