Why do you exist? Why do I exist? That's the question we kick the week off with, and it comes from a regular listener to the podcast named Tyler, a young Christian, and Pastor John joins us over the phone. Pastor John, hello, and thank you for taking my question. I found that I flourish in almost anything when I understand the big picture.

When this is true, I understand the why behind everything I'm doing and where I'm going. Unfortunately, as I'm now laying the foundations for the rest of my life as a Christian, all too often I find myself asking why and not getting an answer. It seems that every sermon at church and every lesson from fellow believers is quote unquote, in the weeds of immediate life application, and doesn't relate back to the larger storyline of God's purposes and creation and recreation.

So what is the overarching concept for my life, my reason for existence and relationship with God? I know if I better understand this, I could dive into the details and perform them more effectively and more joyfully within this larger context. Pastor John, what would you say to Tyler? Yes, yes, yes.

That's exactly the way I think about it. Tyler and I are wired very similarly, it seems. Actually, I think all human beings are wired this way, only some feel it more consciously than others. I think we're all made to find our significance by being attached to the ultimate. So all human beings are created to attach their tiny little lives to something absolutely majestic and glorious so that their life takes on a sense of wonder and eternal significance, not because of who or what we are in ourselves, but because of how we're attached to and participate in the life and purposes of the creator of the universe.

So yes, yes, yes. Amen. Tyler. Oh, how I remember the tumultuous and wonderful days between 1968 and 1971 when my world was being rebuilt, destroyed and rebuilt by an understanding of the overarching sovereign purposes of God to be glorified in this world. It was a kind of Copernican revolution to read Jonathan Edwards, the end for which God created the world, or to read Daniel Fuller's distillation of that book in his unpublished class syllabus called the unity of the Bible with the glory of God at its center, or to read his essay in a collection called things most surely believed by the faculty of Fuller Seminary, in which he gave an exposition of Isaiah 43, six and seven.

Bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. I remember reading that chapter and feeling, Oh God, this is awesome. Now, what was new about this for me was not that I was to live for the glory of God, I mean, my mother and my father continually quoted for me, first Corinthians 10 31, Johnny, whatever you do with the eater, drink, do all to the glory of God.

I knew that was my duty, but what I had not seen was that this was God's design for himself, not just my duty toward him. God's purpose in creating the universe was that he would glorify himself in all that he does in creation and providence and redemption, all that he ever did.

He does for his own glory. He obeys first Corinthians 10 31 as the reason for his very existence, because he's built into his nature as the sovereign God. This was the great ultimate purpose of all things. It wasn't just my duty. It was the grand design of the universe.

I remember kneeling with Noel and our beat up old used couch in our brand new home is newlyweds in Pasadena. As I was learning these things, I remember kneeling in prayer with her and turning to her and saying, isn't is amazing how our prayers have changed as we are discovering what we're saying when we say, hallowed be your name.

I just think I, I, I mouthed that prayer without realizing I am calling upon the living God to fulfill his ultimate purpose for the universe in bringing all things to reverence and treasure and glorify and value his name above all things. And that's what happens when, when your universe is being turned upside down.

One of the first evidences is in your prayer life and how everything now is revolving around the prayer. Do your great purpose, glorify your great name, hallow yourself, do your will, bring your kingdom. You're the center, make it happen instead of just me, me, me, me, me. And I recall how my own sense of calling to the ministry of the word took on a clear purpose in the light of Philippians one 20.

Um, it is my eager expectation, Paul said, and my hope that I will not at all be ashamed, but that with full courage now is always Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. Oh, so I, I wasn't just arbitrarily pulling out of the Bible a purpose for my life.

I was being swept up into the grand purpose of the universe, which, which Paul himself was part of. He, he had drawn it down from God's great glorious purpose for creation and redemption. He'd made it part of his life and said, whether I live or whether I die, I have one passion, magnify Jesus.

In other words, live to make Christ look magnificent. Almost everything I've done in the last 50 years has been a working out of what it means that God created the universe for his glory. And the greatness of being human is to join him in that eternal purpose. This is where Christian hedonism came from.

This is where the sovereignty of God finds its root and meaning. This is where the meaning of worship is rooted. The ministry of the word is rooted. Global missions is rooted. Acts of justice are rooted. Sacrifices of marriage are rooted. Routines of daily work get their meaning here. Everything else find their ground and their significance in God's purpose to create and do all acts of providence and all acts of redemption for his glory.

So I want to say to Tyler, yes, yes, yes. You will be able to dive into the painful and happy particulars of your life if you keep in view this great overarching purpose. And that purpose is to live in such a way as to make the surpassing worth of God in Christ look like what it really is.

To live in such a way as to make the infinite value of Jesus more plain than if you had not lived. This doesn't answer all the detailed questions of ethics in our lives. But it does give direction for how to pray and how to meditate and how to pursue God's wisdom in the in the world, in our daily life.

So, Tyler, let me just give you those three passages again, because they made all the difference in my life. Isaiah 43, 7, that God created you for his glory, created everything for his glory. This is the great overarching purpose for you and everything else. Philippians 1, 20, where Paul says whether he lives or dies, he does everything for the goal of magnifying Jesus Christ, showing his supreme value over everything.

And then finally, Father, hallowed be your name. Crying out to God every day. I'm doing this at 71 years old. I'm crying out to God every day. Oh, please let the last decade or whatever of my life be a greater, greater than ever magnifying of your supreme value. This is the great unifying vision of human life.

And may the Lord make it clear to you and free you from any sense of wasting your life. Glorious. This is what we're all about. This is the point of your life, Tyler. Your joy, our joy, the glory of God, and the purpose of this little podcast all wrapped together into one end in this universe that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

Oh, beautiful. This is the unwasted life. There's so much to chew on in this episode, but if you want even more to chew on, visit our online home at desiringgod.org/asbestorjohn. And there you can explore all 1,250 or so of our episodes. You can scan a list of our most popular ones, read full transcripts.

Even send us a question of your own. And of course, if you want these episodes delivered to you three times per week, subscribe to the Ask Pastor John podcast in your favorite podcast app. While joy in God is at the center of the purpose of our lives. So what are the three most common threats to the joy of this current generation of believers?

Where is our joy made susceptible? It's a question on Wednesday. Wow. Another great question coming from you, the audience. Keep them coming. Thanks for sending those in. We love the questions that you send in. Your engagement is critical to what we do. I'm so grateful. And I'm your host, Tony Reinke.

We'll see you next time. Bye. .