Why Jesus Came to Earth

Fame.

Popularity.

Power.

I can think of so many different (selfish) reasons of why I’d come to earth if I was God.

Thankfully, I’m not.

And yet, I can’t help but look around and be sobered by a society of people who all think we are. That’s not a passive-aggressive dig so much as it’s an interpretation of our current cultural moment. We live in a radically individualized culture. A culture where my truth is my truth. A culture that tells us to be true to ourselves—that our happiness, fulfillment, and enjoyment is the highest priority in this life.

“Here’s the bottom line: Jesus didn’t come to this earth to be famous. He didn’t come to this earth to push a political agenda or gain an earthly seat of power. Jesus’ primary motivation for coming to this earth was love.”

But, if I’m being honest (and I promise I’m typing this with humility and pain in my heart), I’ve yet to meet someone who has followed that way of life all the way through and found the happiness and fulfillment they were seeking on the other side. Instead, after hours upon hours spent building up a public persona, an online platform or audience, or even some semblance of community, many of us are lonelier than ever.

How can that be?

I think there’s two reasons: 1) We’ve attempted to fill the (cliché) God-sized hole in our heart with ourselves, which over the span of history has never led to ultimate fulfillment. 2) We’ve traded real, authentic relationship for online influence.

A quick word on both.

As human beings, made in the Imago Dei (Image of God), we are formed with an eternal longing. It’s why satisfaction always feels just outside of our grasp, why sunsets can bring us to tears, and why we never feel more human than when we experience a taste of being fully known and fully loved. All of this pricks a deep ache within us of how life should be. It should be a life where we’re always fully known and loved, a place where beauty can always be rightfully appreciated, and where we are deeply satisfied. That’s eternity’s longing within us. That’s our desire for God stirring. The problem is that a new car is not God, 10,000 likes or followers on Instagram is not God, neither is that guy or girl you slept with that you swore was your soul mate. And in an to find happiness, we’ve exchanged the love and acceptance of our Heavenly Father for things or people that always overpromise and underdeliver.

To cope with our internal hurt or insecurity, we’ve retreated to online spheres where people’s acceptance and appreciation can come in droves. Why work hard on building one real, authentic friendship when you can have 1,000 friends who tell you how great you are in an instant? We all know the problem with this logic and yet, so many of us fall for it on a daily basis. We convince ourselves that the real us cannot be fully loved and therefore, we shy away from being fully known. Instead, we settle for online influence, trusting that our anonymous online audience is sufficient enough.

But the truth is that influence rings hollow without relationship.

That’s why Jesus didn’t come to this earth as an influencer, YouTuber, or vlogger. He came to this earth as a human being, a tradesman, and a rabbi. He spent years pouring into people relationally. Yes, he taught to crowds and communicated to the masses. And yes, his message spread through those avenues. I’m not against proclaiming a good message (re: this blog). But ultimately, it was through the deep, intimate, authentic relationships that Jesus formed with his twelve disciples which allowed his influence to shape and form humanity for thousands of years.

Here’s the bottom line: Jesus didn’t come to this earth to be famous. He didn’t come to this earth to push a political agenda or gain an earthly seat of power. Jesus’ primary motivation for coming to this earth was love.

“The truth is that influence rings hollow without relationship.”

Jesus came to earth to love people. To demonstrate the power of relationship.

To recap: I’m not opposed in any way to building a platform/following/audience/etc. I understand the place in our society for all of that. My point is that if Jesus’ primary motivation for coming to earth was love, so too should it be ours.

As human beings, created in the image of God, our ambition should be to live well, love deeply, and pursue Jesus with passion.

Perhaps then, that God-sized hole will begin to feel a little smaller on this side of Heaven.

Be encouraged.