REASONFOR OUR CREATION

Thomas Cromwell

The Purpose of Creation

What is God's purpose? Why did God create? Since human beings were made in the
image of God, and therefore are endowed with characteristics that mirror God's
attributes, the key to answering this question is easily derived by understanding the
fundamental motivation of humankind.

-Nabored ba ang Ginoo ? trip lang ba niya? O na stress siya kay wala siya ka
estoryha hehe! So karon atong tukibon ang rason ngano ang Diyos nag buhat
kanato og ngano kita hulagway man sama kaniya o the image of God/ the imago
dei.

It is important to know God's purpose in making the creation because human beings
can fulfill their own purpose only when they know clearly why God made them. Every
being comes into existence to fulfill a purpose given to it by its creator; nothing creates
itself or determines its own purpose. Consequently, a creation can fulfill its potential only
by implementing its creator-given purpose. Since God is the Creator of all, His purpose
for the creation is the creation's purpose.

- Mahalagang malaman ang layunin ng Diyos sa paggawa ng nilikha dahil

matutupad lamang ng tao ang kanilang sariling layunin kapag malinaw nilang
nalalaman kung bakit sila ginawa ng Diyos. Ang bawat nilalang ay umiral upang
matupad ang isang layunin na ibinigay dito ng lumikha nito; walang lumilikha ng
sarili o nagtatakda ng sarili nitong layunin. Dahil dito, magagawa lamang ng isang
nilikha ang potensyal nito sa pamamagitan lamang ng pagpapatupad ng layuning
ibinigay ng lumikha. Dahil ang Diyos ang Lumikha ng lahat, ang Kanyang layunin
para sa paglikha ay layunin ng paglikha.

It is the natural tendency of God's creations to carry out the purposes for which they
were made. For example, hydrogen naturally combines with oxygen to form water; a
lettuce plant unconsciously absorbs light, water and minerals in becoming food for
human beings and animals; and, without having been shown how, a stork builds a nest
to protect its eggs and young offspring until they are strong enough to fend for
themselves.

- Ito ay likas na hilig ng mga nilikha ng Diyos na isagawa ang mga layunin kung
saan sila ginawa. Halimbawa, ang hydrogen ay natural na pinagsama sa oxygen
upang bumuo ng tubig; ang halamang lettuce ay hindi sinasadyang sumisipsip
ng liwanag, tubig at mineral sa pagiging pagkain ng mga tao at hayop; at, nang
hindi naipakita kung paano, ang isang tagak ay gumagawa ng isang pugad upang
protektahan ang kanyang mga itlog at mga supling hanggang sa sila ay sapat na
malakas upang pangalagaan ang kanilang sarili.

Human beings, however, have free will, allowing them to choose to fulfill their given
purpose. Free will is a gift from God that enables humankind to know and love God, and
participate with God in creative processes. If humans do not understand the purpose for
which God made them, they are likely to make wrong choices and consequently live
unfulfilled and tragic lives in the pursuit of erroneous purposes. However, when a
person does fulfill his God-given purpose, he experiences complete joy and fulfillment.

- Ang mga tao, gayunpaman, ay may malayang pagpapasya, na nagpapahintulot

sa kanila na pumili upang matupad ang kanilang ibinigay na layunin. Ang
malayang pagpapasya ay isang regalo mula sa Diyos na nagbibigay-daan sa
sangkatauhan na makilala at mahalin ang Diyos, at makibahagi sa Diyos sa mga
malikhaing proseso. Kung hindi nauunawaan ng mga tao ang layunin kung bakit
sila ginawa ng Diyos, malamang na gumawa sila ng mga maling pagpili at dahil
dito ay mamumuhay nang hindi natutupad at kalunos-lunos sa pagtataguyod ng
mga maling layunin. Gayunpaman, kapag tinutupad ng isang tao ang kaniyang
bigay-Diyos na layunin, nararanasan niya ang ganap na kagalakan at katuparan.

The precise purpose for God making the creation and the way that purpose can be
fulfilled by humanity and nature are discussed in this chapter.

- Ang tiyak na layunin ng paggawa ng Diyos sa paglikha at ang paraan na

maaaring matupad ng sangkatauhan at kalikasan ang layuning iyon ay tinalakay
sa kabanatang ito.

Universal Human Purpose: Achieving True Happiness

The most universal human desire is for happiness. All men and women live to be happy,
pursuing that aim as best they know how. Every action of every person is intended to
increase his or her happiness. Even if pain is to be the immediate consequence of a
decision to seek happiness, that pain is understood to be the price that must be paid to
gain greater happiness. Thus, artists will make great effort to create substantial
representations of their ideas or visions, feeling joy once they have succeeded; athletes
will exhaust themselves in training, driving their bodies to the limit so that they can
experience the pleasure of achieving fitness and winning competitions; saints will live
lives of sacrifice and hardship to gain the eternal joy of heaven.

How, then, is joy produced? Consider how any person feels joy. It can never be
experienced by an individual alone, but only through having an object that reflects the
subject's nature. Joy is the stimulation a subject receives from the object's resemblance
to the subject, whether the object is visible or invisible. For example, an artist feels joy
when the vision or idea in his or her mind is realized as a finished work of art. The work
created is a resemblance of the idea for it. An athlete feels joy when, after continual
training and practice, he or she achieves sporting excellence. Whether athlete, business
professional, scientist or artist, the joy of achievement arises when substantial
accomplishment in the world resembles the goal formulated in the mind. Most
exhilarating is the joy experienced by parents as they raise their children to substantiate
their parents' ideal for them, since in the parent-child relationship there is the greatest
resemblance between creator and creation.

True happiness, or joy, is experienced only when human beings fulfill the purpose for
which they were originally created. All other pursuits of happiness sooner or later lead to
frustration and misery. Thus the individual who pursues his own happiness by exploiting
others can never experience lasting joy. All moral and social crimes are of this nature:
seeking happiness that, sooner or later, causes the loss of happiness for others. Action
taken with a selfish and unrighteous motive always leads to the creation of human
suffering, proving that it is contrary to humanity's true, God-endowed purpose.

The creation was made to complete itself through the formation of four position
foundations based on giving and receiving between subjects and objects. It is when a
subject and object form a harmonious union, centered on God's will, that each fulfils its
purpose. Sub-atomic particles fulfill their purpose when they form atoms, atoms when
they form molecules, and molecules when they form whole entities. Likewise, stamens
and pistils fulfill their purpose when they cross-pollinate and produce seeds, and male
and female animals when they mate and produce offspring.

In human society, this principle applies to all relationships, from the individual to the
global. A child fulfills its purpose and is happy when it has harmonious relationships with
its parents and siblings, while a mature man and woman fulfill their purpose and
experience joy when they enter into a responsible, monogamous relationship of love,
create children and raise a family. The happiness of children and parents produced by
the giving and receiving of true love is the greatest human joy. Joy is also experienced
in all other human relationships governed by true love, and hence centered on God's
love. Giving and receiving love in a family is the model for giving and receiving love in
society and among nations. In the family one learns the most essential truth: concern for
the whole must be set above the interests of the individual.

Human experience shows that the degree of joy in a relationship depends on the
compatibility of the characteristics and purposes of those involved. The most intense joy
experienced by a woman is in the love relationship she has with the man who is her
eternal mate. The couple's compatibility of purpose is total and the masculinity and
femininity of the man and woman are perfectly complementary. When a man and
woman unite in true love, their spiritual and physical natures fuse into one to create the
highest joy for both partners. This experience of joy and fulfillment demonstrates that
man was made for woman and woman for man.
Individuals, families, groups and nations also experience joy in relating to other
individuals, families, groups and nations, depending on mutuality of purpose. Social
happiness is produced from harmonious relations among families, centered on God's
love and truth; international happiness is produced from harmonious relations among
nations, centered on God's will for those nations. The will of God is the purposeful
expression of His love and truth.

Humans can also receive joy from their relationships with nature. Because nature was
created in the image of human beings (as an environment to sustain and give them joy),
men and women together encapsulate the elements of the mineral, plant and animal
kingdoms and are the only created beings that can relate to all other beings in the
creation, directly or indirectly. The degree of resemblance between human and non-
human beings determines the degree of joy experienced in the relationship. Pets, for
example, generally demonstrate a high level of human-like characteristics, giving joy to
the individuals who love them.

God Created to Experience Joy

God is the origin of all love, the First Lover. He is not distant from His creation, but
intimately concerned with its welfare and development. Love, by its very nature, must be
given, and therefore needs an object that can receive it. One cannot love nothing. God
made the creation, centered on man and woman endowed with the ability to receive and
give love, as the object to receive His love. Without such an object, God would not be a
God of love, but would remain a God of potential love. Without an object to whom He
could give His love, God would not experience joy. Therefore, God made the creation,
and humankind in particular, in order to give love and experience joy.

Men and women were created by God for love. Giving and receiving love is the central
purpose of their lives and the means by which they experience fulfillment and joy.
Although God is perfect, He seeks joy from His creation through the flowering of His
love. His joy comes from experiencing men and women as they grow from infants
through childhood into adulthood when, as mature parents, they create families, groups
and nations living in the harmony created by relationships of true love. Their joy is His
joy, their fulfillment, His fulfillment.

Thus God seeks as much from His partners in the four position foundation as they seek
from each other and from Him. Men and women are the culmination of the creation,
embodying the dual attributes of God more completely than any other beings. The high
degree to which human beings resemble God, especially in their capacity to give and
receive love, enables them to respond substantially to God and His love. God's heart is
essentially the heart of a parent for children, and therefore the relationship between God
and human beings can best be likened to a parent-child relationship.
Humans Were Created to Give Joy to God
God made human beings in such a way as to enable Him to experience joy through
giving and receiving love with them. Consequently, the purpose of human life is to give
joy to God. This is accomplished by perfecting human relationships to complete the four
position foundation, centered on God. Men and women are endowed with heart and
creativity. These are the attributes they need to complete the four position foundation
and fulfill their purpose as objects of God's heart and co-creators with God. When
humans fulfill their God-given purpose, they feel complete and experience joy through
returning joy to God. God's joy and human joy are inseparable.

Human beings were not created in a vacuum, but in a nurturing environment which they
need for the fulfillment of their purpose. God created the mineral, plant and animal
kingdoms in the image of man and woman, to sustain and please human beings. Man
and woman are an encapsulation of the cosmos created before them and for them. But
they are unique in creation because they have both spirit and body, an internal
character capable of intimate communication with God as well as an external form
capable of communicating with the rest of creation. Mature men and women, who have
become true parents, are the center of han-nony between the all-transcending world of
God and the world of nature. For this reason, God experiences joy in nature through
human joy in nature.