CHRIST — OUR REASON FOR LIVING
Life presses the same question upon every soul sooner or later: Why am I here? We may distract ourselves for a season with work, pleasure, ambition, or routine, but the question waits patiently beneath it all. The Bible does not answer this with a vague philosophy or a passing motivation. It answers with a Person.
Christ Himself is our reason for living.
The Apostle Paul said it plainly when he wrote that for him, to live was Christ, and to die was gain (Philippians 1:21). Life was no longer measured by success, comfort, or longevity. It was defined by union with Jesus. Paul’s breath, labor, suffering, and hope were gathered into one purpose: belonging to Christ and making Him known.
Christ is our reason for living because He is our Creator and our Redeemer. All things were created through Him and for Him, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17). This means our lives are not accidents drifting through time. We were made with intention, sustained by His power, and drawn toward His purposes. Outside of Him, life fragments. In Him, life finds coherence.
Jesus also gives meaning to living by giving Himself for us. He said that He came so that we might have life, and have it abundantly, not merely existence, but life marked by restoration and fullness (John 10:10). This abundance is not excess or ease; it is life reconciled to God, freed from condemnation, and rooted in grace. When Christ becomes the center, living is no longer about self-preservation, but about faithful response.
Christ our reason for living also reshapes how we endure hardship. The Gospel teaches that we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). New life does not mean trouble-free life. It means life no longer ruled by sin, fear, or despair. Even suffering is given meaning when it is carried in fellowship with Christ.
This is why believers can live with quiet resolve in an unsteady world. We are told that we no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died for us and was raised again (2 Corinthians 5:15). Our days are not empty. Our obedience is not wasted. Our faithfulness, even when unseen, matters eternally because it is offered to Christ.
To live for Christ is not to withdraw from the world, but to engage it rightly. It is to love because He first loved us. It is to serve because He became a servant. It is to hope because He lives. When Christ is our reason for living, even ordinary moments are caught up into something holy.
Life apart from Christ asks us to invent meaning and sustain it by our own strength. Life in Christ rests in a meaning already given, secured by His cross, and confirmed by His resurrection. He is not one reason among many. He is the reason. And in Him, life finally makes sense.
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Lord Jesus, You are our life and our purpose. Teach us to live for You in every moment, trusting that our days are held in Your hands. May our lives bring honor to Your name, now and always. Amen.
BDD
