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Dear Dawson, Why did God make the earth and us along with it? He doesn't really need us, so why did he create anything?

Great question, and you're not the first to ask it. King David asked essentially the same thing:

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers … what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:3-4).

Why did God make us? To answer that, we need to know three things:

First, and you mentioned this in your question, it wasn't because he needed us: "The God who made the world and everything in it … is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything" (Acts 17:24-25).

And he didn't make us because he was lonely. Long before we were here, God already had "company" with his Son and the Holy Spirit, referred to in Genesis 1:26, "Let us make man in our own image."

And he didn't make us because he needed his ego fed. It's not like God made us to satisfy some craving to be worshiped. God is totally secure in who he is—without us.

Second, despite not needing us, God chose to create us anyway, out of his great love: "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Yes, God loved us before he even created us. It's impossible to get our heads around that idea, but it's true; that's what "everlasting" love means.

God is love (1 John 4:8), and because of that love and his wonderful creativity, he made us so we can enjoy all that he is and all that he's done.

Third, God created us to fulfill his eternal plan. I could write pages and pages about this, but suffice it to say that God, in his infinite wisdom, chose to make us a part of his eternal plan.

What part do we play in this plan? Well, the Bible is full of instructions for how we should live our lives. But here are a few key verses to remember:

1. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5).
   
2. "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39).
   
3. "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
   

We're also part of the war between God and Satan, and God's ultimate plan to defeat Satan. By putting our faith in God, we can defeat Satan and his lies (see Ephesians 6:10-18).

Finally, perhaps the most important part we play in God's eternal plan is to point people to eternal life with God—through his Son Jesus Christ. The Bible calls this our "ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

That's why we're here. But it's also important to note that we have a choice in all of this. When God created us, he didn't make us pawns in some cosmic chess game. We're not his toy soldiers. God gives us freedom of choice.

Bottom line: God may not need us, but we certainly need him. I hope you've made the choice to put your trust completely in him—and play an exciting part in his loving, eternal plan.

Dawson McAllister is a popular youth speaker with Shepherd Ministries. He also has a live, nationally syndicated radio call-in program for students ("Dawson McAllister Live"), from 8-10 p.m. (EST) every Sunday night. You can also check out his site on the Internet (http://christiananswers.net/dmlive/dmlhome.html).

Got a question about the Christian faith, doctrine or something in the Bible? Send it to "Dear Dawson," Campus Life, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188. You can also reach "Dear Dawson" via fax (630-260-0114) or e-mail (clmag@CampusLife.net). Due to the volume of mail, Dawson cannot answer every letter.

1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail clmag@CampusLife.net

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