Three Questions You Must Answer Before You Die

Three Questions You Must Answer Before You Die

There are three vital questions every human being must answer before he or she dies, or else be found a fool:

1. Where did I come from? (the question of origins--the past).
2. Why am I here? (the question of purpose--the present).
3. Where am I going? (the question of destiny--the future).

The Word of God, the Bible, answers all three of these crucial questions in plain and easily understood language. This is because God wants us to know the answers, because knowing the answer to each of these questions is vital to our fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.

1. Where did I come from (the question of origins--the past).
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).

"You created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Rev. 4:11).

From the first book of the Bible to the last, God makes it clear that he is the source of all that exists. The Genesis passage states, in the plainest of language, the source and origin of the universe. It does not answer the question of where I came from, except in a general sense in that I am part of the universe. For a more specific answer to my own unique existence, other passages of Scripture must be consulted.

"You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Ps. 139:13).

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Ps. 139:16).

"Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Mt. 10:30).

All these verses show that I am created by God and that he knows me intimately and personally. This is a far cry from the impersonal and mechanistic deception of evolution. That falsehood says that I am a product of chance. The Bible says that I was created by a living and personal God.

2. Why am I here? (the question of purpose--the present).

But there must be more to life than mere existence, or else that existence is a curse and not a blessing. I must know why I was created in order to have purpose and meaning in my life. One of the best and shortest biblical answers to the question of purpose for my existence actually answers the first two questions together.

"All things were created by him and for him" (Col. 1:16).

This verse deserves far more attention than it is commonly given. The by tells us how we came to be; the for tells us why. Here in just a few short words, we have God's plainly revealed answer to two of the most important questions that every human being needs to answer before dying, in order to live a full and rich life: We were created by Jesus and for Jesus.

Some people desperately search their whole lives to learn this truth that is simply and plainly stated in this one verse from the Bible. How grateful we should be that God makes it so easy for us to know what we need to know! If someone, then, should ask us why we exist or what the purpose of our existence is, we can answer in a single word, one name: Just say, "Jesus".

Other Scriptures confirm this central truth about our existence:

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 Jn.3:1".

"Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, 'I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.' And again, 'I will put my trust in him.' And again he says, 'Here am I, and the children God has given me' (Heb. 2:11-13).

We who believe in Jesus are children of God and brothers of Jesus, the Son of God. We were created for this very reason, that he might have brothers and sisters and that the Father would thus have many more children. We were created to be children of our loving heavenly Father.

3. Where am I going? (the question of destiny--the future).

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (Jn. 14:1-3).

"We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words" (1 Ths. 4:17,18).

These are indeed encouraging words for us who believe in Jesus, who will return to this earth to take us to be with him and the Father forever. But this is only for those who have indeed surrendered their very souls to Jesus. Those who have not have a very different destiny:

"Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life" (Mt. 25:41-46).

In answering a very deep and very complex question about the eternal destiny of human souls, the Bible, once again, is very clear and cuts away the excess verbiage of human answers to the question by giving just two words: heaven or hell. If we want to know which of these two places will be our dwelling place for all eternity, all we have to do is answer one question: Do I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, surrender my very soul to him, trust what he did on the cross to save me and get my soul to heaven? Then I will go to heaven. If not, I will go to hell.

I love how God gives simple, easily understood answers to these three complicated, complex questions of life. In fact, all that has been said above can be reduced down even further to a single word, one name: Jesus. If that is done, here is how the three answers God gives us in the Bible to the questions can be stated:

1. Where did I come from? (the question of origins--the past).
Answer: Jesus.
2. Why am I here? (the question of purpose--the present).
Answer: Jesus.
3. Where am I going? (the question of destiny--the future).
Answer: Jesus (either for judgment and hell or salvation and heaven).

This is a wonderful and gracious gift from God to us, and I thank and praise him for giving such precious knowledge to us.