Dreaded.  You know, “The Questions” that you are forced to answer over and over again since they are asked by almost everyone you encounter when you return home for the holidays.  When I was in college, the questions were: “What’s your major?”, “Do you have a boyfriend?”, and “What do you want to do with your life?” Once I graduated, the theme stayed the same, but the questions were tweaked slightly.  “Do you have a job?” “Are you married yet?”  “Is your job on a career path?” Now that I am married, I get: “Do you have children?” and “Do you still work?”

I never realized that the whole of my existence could be summed up in just 2 or 3 questions.  Sometimes I think that maybe I should just write my replies on a nametag and be done with it.  Then if they work for someone, she or he can stop and talk to me.  I think the real issue, though, is do my answers work for me.  Do I believe those questions, or rather my answers, justify my existence?  Or am I just the waste of air that deep down I am so afraid that I am?

But Jesus . . . it is hard for me to imagine that Jesus would leave what I can only picture as His posh spot in heaven to come down and suffer being human for 33 years just so that He could be with me.  Without Him, I must endeavor to justify my existence, to tilt the scales to read “good” or “worthy of love.”  But with Him, it has all been done.  Now I am His chosen one, holy and dearly loved, called to spend my life by His grace coming to know Him in the most intimate way. (Col. 3:12) That is the purpose of my life and His sacrifice is my justification for living.

So, let’s try those questions again, this time keeping our identity in Christ in mind . . . . They all boil down to: Are you lovable?  Do you have a purpose? Are you important? Are you making a contribution to this world?

And for the answers:  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) “He rescued me because he delighted in me.” (1 Sam. 22:20)  Am I loveable?  Absolutely, by the grace of God.

Do you have a purpose?  Yes—“the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.” (Westminster Catechism, altered by John Piper)  

Are you important? Yes, you are so important to God that he sent his son to die so that you and I could have a relationship with Him.  Yet, our importance is nothing compared with God and his glory.  We are but ashes and dust apart from him.

And, finally, if you are living by faith, you will be contributing to this world: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)