The Problem of Origins

Main Idea

We are both physical and spiritual beings. This affects the way we interact with the world, find value, and approach purpose.

Opening Section (2:20 minutes)

Have you ever had the sense that there must be more to life than what you can see?

There are times in life where we’re facing a struggle or watching a sunset or laying down after a day of work, when the thought hits us: Is this really all there is to life? And this subconscious thought begins to stir up something else inside of us:

Longing.

Longing is “an intense desire to do or have something.” (Oxford Dictionary)

And the thing about longing is that you cannot hope for what you don’t have or desire what you cannot see unless somehow your soul knows that there’s something missing.

We can want new clothes and new cars and nice homes, but even after we attain these materials that we set our sights on, when the glow of accumulating things wears off and the pride of successes starts to fade that we once again lay down at night and wonder, Is this really what life is about?

Because when we slow down enough to confront this thought, we realize our longing all along was not truly for materials or accomplishments. We long for something more. Something beyond what we can see.

We long to find purpose. To live into that purpose. To end our days feeling like what we did had meaning.

We seek purpose and meaning because we were made for one.

What you believe about your origins will affect the way you interact with this world… where and how you find value… and how you approach finding purpose.

We’re going to study our origins from a biblical worldview, but first, take a few minutes to reflect on these questions.

Screen Questions:

Where do you see people most often looking for meaning or fulfillment in life?

2. Why do you think this thought or feeling of “there must be more” is so universal?

Middle Section (2:20 minutes)

That sense of longing we’re talking about isn’t accidental. Scripture suggests it’s actually a clue that points us toward how we were made and who we were made by.

So let’s start there, at the origin of mankind in Genesis:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth… Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground… Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 1:1, 2:5, 7 NIV)

God took this material and breathed into it His life, forming it into His image (Gen. 1:27). And in this way, God made humankind a very unique creature because we are made both physical and spiritual.

This is where human value begins—At the origin. We are not the eventual product of chance! We are created beings with both a body and a soul. To say it another way, we were designed. God approached the formation of man with great intention.

These verses from Genesis 2 that we just read imply that God designed man to be a worker on the earth. This is part of what it means to be made in God’s image. Genesis 1:26 says,

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”

God designed us to be like Him and to share in His ruling over creation which makes us, even though we are physical created beings, higher than the animals. We are more than just bodies. We have value because God gave it to us.

Before we move on, take some time to talk about what implications our origins have on the innate value of human life.

Screen Questions:

1A. How is human value defined differently if we are intentionally created by God rather than formed by chance?

1B. How does that understanding of value help explain why humans naturally seek meaning and purpose in life?

2. Read Psalm 8:4-6. Even after the Fall, the value and purpose of mankind remains, making it inherent, not earned. How does this understanding of human value shape the way you think about your own purpose or role in the world?

Closing Section (2 minutes)

Although we are more than just bodies, even though we are spiritual beings, we are not gods. When this intentional design gets out of line, we run into all sorts of problems.

In this book, Mark Clark writes, “Making ourselves the highest authority means there is no bigger story for us to be a part of. There is no ultimate point or place or destination, so this moment in time is directionless and meaningless.”

He’s getting at this problem of origin. We were made by a Creator with a design in mind. Yet oftentimes, we don’t want to submit to the intentions of this Creator. We want to live according to our own rules and create our own purpose and pursue our personal happiness at all costs.

In particular, in recent American history we have seen our culture chasing everything possible to achieve happiness and self-made purpose, and we are worse off than ever before in history. Again, Mark Clark writes, “A century after testing out the secular answers to those longings, and adding to our lives the technology to connect us, the medicine that can heal us, and the psychology that can explain us, the Western world is worse off. We are more depressed, more suicidal, more anxious, and more lost than ever.”

In the United States in the last few years, there have been twice as many suicides as homicides. The message we hear from culture increasingly shouts that we should put the self first no matter the cost, but it’s costing us our lives because we were never meant to determine our own value and manufacture our own purpose.

We are not meant to be the gods of ourselves. We will flourish when we go back to our origins, receive meaning and value from the God who intentionally designed us, and submit our lives to His rule.

We’re being crushed under the weight of having to design our own value and purpose. That’s a weight we were never meant to carry. The next time you find yourself thinking, Is this really all there is? or feel your soul longing for more, remember your origins. True freedom is found when God is God and we are His.

Before we go, I want you to reflect on these ideas together. Don’t rush to the “right” answer, but take the time to honestly weigh where you’ve been seeking value and how you’ve been chasing purpose.

Screen Questions:

Why do you think the idea of being our own authority is so appealing, even when it often leads to confusion or exhaustion?

2A. Read Ephesians 2:10. How does this verse reshape the way you think about purpose—as something received from God rather than something you have to create for yourself?

2B. What feels freeing about this idea? What feels challenging?

Guided Prayer

Each week, we will encourage you to pray with your groups. But before you do that today, I want to walk you through a short guided prayer. We might know the right answers about our origins and what that means for our value, but that doesn’t always make it easy to live in light of that truth.

Let’s take just a minute and tell God honestly where we are:

I want you each to close your eyes. Imagine that you’re out to coffee with Jesus just like we do with each other. He’s sitting across from you. He looks at you with so much love.

First, I want you to tell Him about the pressure you feel to hustle. In what ways do you feel the need to prove your worth or earn your value?

Now, tell Him where you feel like you’re falling short, where it feels like you’re not enough, where you’re exhausted.

Tell Him what makes you feel like you have to carry it on your own.

Now, if you’re ready, simply ask Him to step into these feelings you’re having and help you start living in the freedom offered by the inherent value He has placed on your life.

Anyone who is willing can share with the group the things you just confessed to Jesus. Take some time before you go to encourage one another and pray that the fullness of God’s design for you would change the way you approach your worth and your work this week.