I recently read a brief article in which it seemed to me the author failed to distinguish between the reasons why we exist and why we were saved. He supplied a biblical reason for our salvation but lumped that together with why we were created.
The passage he quoted was this, from 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
That is a stunningly beautiful verse of scripture. But notice that it has to do specifically with why God chose us to be his people, namely, it was to declare his praises.
But when it comes to why he created us in the first place I think a more fundamental passage to consider is Colossians 1:16 where we read of Jesus that “all things” were created “for him.” That is, as I understand it, for friendship with him.
Then once we respond to his call to friendship and begin to talk with him about every part of our lives, we begin to find out how incalculably worthy he is of our praises. It becomes our highest honor to be commissioned to make others aware of how ineffably good he is. In the words of Peter, we declare his praises.
Notice how in Isaiah 43:21 the Lord puts the two ideas side by side — why we were created and why we were redeemed. He speaks of Israel as “the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”
This differentiation may be subtle, but I consider it paramount because God is perfectly humble. He did not create us to first use us to draw attention to himself and then in the course of it favor us with his friendship. No, we were first of all created to belong to him in mutual friendship, then, from out of that redeemed intimacy, to explode with a joy that cannot get enough of magnifying his goodness. Why? So that those we influence have a chance to know something of his goodness through us and how much he loves them too. And, for that matter, we soon discover that when it comes to declaring his praises, we just can’t help it.
