While life is often filled with many special days there are two days in particular that William Barclay says are the greatest. According to Barclay: “There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.”1
The first great day – the day you were born, is special for many reasons. First, while the day you were conceived, is actually when the foreknowledge of God became the reality of life, birth is exceeding special because it is the time you enter this world for all to see and rejoice that your mother’s womb reveals her secret treasure. Second, while in the womb you are totally dependent on your mother, at birth your first cry announces to all around that you are here and are now a member of humanity! And third, at birth, God surrounds you with His awesome love and considers you His treasured possession – eagerly awaiting the day when hopefully you will discover the second great day of life.
And that second great day of life is filled with incredible joy for all those who discover why they were born in the first place. For you see knowing why we were created has many far reaching blessings.
Sadly, many people never discover and get to experience this second special day. For example, the atheist never can discover why they were created. Since the atheist has no god to believe in, he places himself as the supreme person in his universe and spends the rest of his life searching for a reason for his existence. Searching every pathway, every byway, overturning every stone, examining every philosophy, and experiencing every feeling, as he comes to the end of his journey, the answer he finds is that none exists!
Others have attempted to fill their lives with seeking fame and fortune, accumulating wealth, sex, power, and pleasures in a feeble attempt to try to answer why they were created. Even the great and wise King Solomon explored all avenues to find out the real purpose of why we are here and concluded that all is vanity! His final conclusion was the right one when he said: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
In my own life the day I discovered why I was born was on October 12, 1981. It was on that day that I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And in a matter of weeks, I began to understand that the reason I was created was to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. As a Christian for now over 43 years it is so enormously comforting to know where I came from, WHY I am here, and where I am going when I pass from this physical body.
In a world where so many struggle for meaning and purpose, only those that have come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, can answer the question of why I am here. Everyone else, like the atheist, will sadly, as they come to the end of their journey, find that the answer is that none exists!
So as Christians, let’s continually praise the Lord that God has chosen to reveal to us the answer to this most fundamental of all questions – why were we born!