Why did God create man?
We often point to the Westminster Catechism and state that our chief goal is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. While a great explanation from Man’s viewpoint, I have wondered about God’s point of view, too. I believe the question might be, what does an Omnipotent and Omnipresent God do to exercise himself and bring Himself glory? No matter what, how can He ever have an expectation that goes beyond His own thoughts, desires, or interactions since He is boundless and perfect? It seems it might be like the owner of the department store buying himself a gift – yet he owns it all and can’t be surprised because he knows his inventory.
I think the word ‘exercise’ is a good one, because what might an all powerful God do to challenge or satisfy His creativity? Consider a young athlete who needs to run as fast as he can, or an artist who strives to draw out the essence of his expression, or a conqueror who needs to gather a domain and bring it under order, or a lover who desires to show his affection to his beloved? Whoever has potential knows the need to exercise it. And being made in His Image, shouldn’t we wonder how much more our Maker desires to be excellent?
I believe that God has taken on an incredibly dangerous and worthy endeavor, one that showcases Who He is and what He alone is capable of. Going backwards from the conclusion, we read that in the end, He is worshipped by a sea of people who truly know and value Him. These are veterans of God, people who know of His Mercy as they recall what they were and what they have become under Christ. People who have known the truth of wretchedness and Relief, or sin and Forgiveness, of weakness and Power, of hopelessness and then Hope, of strife and then Peace. These are people who are rightly sold out to God and have every reason to adore and worship Him.
Considering all of Creation, it is all very incredible. A cursory survey of the stars and space is a thing of wonder, both in the complexity and the magnitude. A look in our own world is a shocking display of creativity, complexity, order, variety. At the molecular and atomic levels, even more amazing and intricate works abound. Colossians 1.17 tells us that in Christ all of these things consist, as He holds it all together.
However, this incredible array of Creation is not the direct subject of Salvation, but we are. Jesus didn’t come as a Godly natural anomaly, but as a man, as one of us. I think the incredible and daring work of God is that He created a host of humanity that would say ‘no’ to Him. I believe this is incredible, because if He wanted to take the direct route, He could have instead made all of us already worshipping Him – and even believing we had taken the same long road through life to get there. But no, He has instead chosen to exercise His Will over us in a bid to convince us, compel us, draw us to turn to Him – and all without ever overpowering us. No one has ever been forced to ask Forgiveness. Instead, He does takes the daring approach and goes as far as He can to chance the risk of rejection – and in the end all to magnify His love for us. This is the means to the end, where He carries all of our deficits as only God can, and thus creates true and genuine worship!