The Bible is full of stories about people and nations who are trying to discover who they are. To whom do they belong and is there a purpose to their being? I suppose this or some similar question comes to most of us at some point in our life.

Why am I alive?
Ecclesiastes struggles with this question. The word "ecclesiastes" means "teacher". In the introductory material in my Bible it says, "The book contains the philosophical and theological reflections of an old man, most of whose life was meaningless because he himself had not relied on God." It goes on to say, "Life not centered on God is purposeless and meaningless. Without God nothing can satisfy. With God all of life and God's other good gifts are to be gratefully received and used and enjoyed to the fullest extent possible."

This old man who may have been King Solomon discovers over the course of his lifetime that all his wisdom and self-indulgence cannot save him nor can they add days to his life. The teacher after great searching and experimentation realizes in chapter 3 verse 14 that, "whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it; nor anything taken from it. Verse 12 states, "There is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy yourself as long as you live." Verse 13 continues, "It is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil."

This does not mean we are to over-indulge ourselves in these things. Rather we are to rejoice in the experience of having what we do rather than being focused upon that which we do not possess. The first question and answer of the Westminster shorter catechism asks, "What is the chief end of man? Man as it is used here means both male and female. The answer is, "We are to glorify god and enjoy God forever."

What this teacher ends up realizing after a lifetime of searching is that the meaning of his life is found in God. The meaning of his life can never be found in himself alone. It cannot be found in his accomplishments or in his possessions or even ultimately in his earthly relationships alone although the relationships can reflect the penultimate truth of meaning found in his relationship with God. He learns that his search is not about finding himself; it is about finding himself in God. Only in a true relationship with God can we ultimately discover who we are and why we are.

Does my life matter?
Another way of asking the basic question is to ask, "Does my life matter? Does the fact that I exist make any real difference?" Again, there are several instances in Scripture where men and women seem to think that all their efforts are futile. I will never be able to get the image of Jonah sitting under the shade of a large plant sulking because the wicked people of Nineveh repented and were forgiven by God because of Jonah's preaching. Imagine helping to save a community of over 100,000 people with one sermon and not being able to enjoy it. For a preacher that is futility!

In Isaiah 49 which is considered by most scholars to be a servant song, the servant says, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity." Do you ever feel that way? You sense that no matter how hard you try it simply doesn't make enough of a difference to even count. There are lots of people who feel this way about their life.

It is important to know who the servant is in this passage. Some think it is Isaiah. He would not be the first or the last prophet to be dismayed. Remember Elijah as he encountered Ahab and Jezebel. In I Kings 19:10 Elijah is fleeing for his life. Elijah has taken on wickedness at every level as he has attempted to do God's will. Now he says, "The Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."

In Mark 15:34 as in Matthew 27:46 Jesus asks from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" we know that God did not forsake Jesus or Elijah nor has God forsaken those whose lives have been offered in service to others in God's name.

The servant talked about in Isaiah 49 could be the prophet but in all likelihood it is not. It could have been one of Israel's kings, but it probably isn't. Many believe the servant is Jesus. While Jesus is part of it as is the prophet and king I believe the servant is even larger. In verse 3 the servant is called Israel, the Old Testament people of God, a whole nation called to God's purpose. Today we have a new Israel. You and I are part of it. The servant I believe is a reference to God's people, to all of us. At the end of verse 6 we hear, "I will give you as a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. In Matthew 5:14 Jesus tells those who follow Him, "You are the light of the world." In verse 16 He says, "Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." Jesus is our light. Our good works consist of the loving things we do and say in His name. I have long believed that we are meant to be the servant. Of course we matter to God. At the end of verse 4 of Isaiah 49 the author having shared how worn out and useless he or she feels says, "Yet surely my cause is with the Lord and my reward with my God."

Jesus says it even more directly. Having asked if God has forsaken Him, Jesus very quickly declares, "Father, into your hands I give my spirit." Virtually everyone in Scripture who wonders whether or not they matter or if their life has been lived in vain ends up acknowledging that God has given their life meaning. The lone exception seems to be Judas who betrayed Christ yet even Judas seems to realize the mistake he mad. His problem was that he could not believe and accept the forgiveness God offers even him.

If my life matters then what is my purpose?
If I am able to accept that I am much more than some cosmic accident or mere coincidence then what am I here for? The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus in order to help them understand the eternal purpose of God. Paul understood that we are created to be in relationship with God and each other. Paul believes we have been created in order to be blessed by God and to be a blessing to God and others. You and I, according to Paul, have been created to be blessed and to be a blessing. You and I have been created by a holy God to be holy ourselves and to help others see and accept that they are created to be holy as well. We are created to become perfect or in other words, to become whole. The U.S. Army slogan, "Be all you can be" summarizes this perfectly. We were created to be all and everything God wants us to be. God wants perfection for us. Notice I did not say God demands perfection from us in order to love us. God loves us and desires that we know that love perfectly. Even before we were born this was God's desire for us and this remains so today, tomorrow and forever.

God wants us as family. We are created to be the family of God. God wants to give us all that God has created. We have been created to receive an eternal inheritance which we share with Christ, the only one who truly deserves it. Still we receive it as a gift because Christ calls us sisters and brothers.

Ephesians 1:12 gives us another clue as to our purpose. We who get our hope in Christ are to live to praise God's glory. We have been created, adopted, forgiven and redeemed in order to glorify God and to be the recipients of God's love and Grace.

As I have read and studied and prayed for this sermon I have come to this conclusion: You and I have been created so that God can spoil us with God's love. There are two ways this word "spoil" is used. One, which I do not mean here, is that we are allowed to do whatever we want. That is not how God acts toward us.

The way I use the word here is how I describe the way my daughter and son-in-law spoil my grandson. They love him with everything they have knowing he has done absolutely nothing other than being born. We have been created to be loved by God just like that.

My purpose is to understand and accept that I am loved that way and so are you. Because I am loved like that I am also invited to love God and others that way. Knowing I am loved that way my only response can be: WOW! Thank you, God!