Recently, I have had the joy of meeting with a few friends who also work in high school ministry and have a passion for writing. Finishing school has been a huge sigh of relief, but I also find myself missing the deadlines, readings, and the way it ignited a passion to write about different things I was learning. These friends and I have been giving each other writing prompts so we can explore writing, give feedback, and hold each other accountable to actually sitting down and writing. For the last couple of years, I have been volunteering with my church’s youth group and love hearing the questions they have about God and faith. One of the questions we often hear is “why does God care what I do?”

Have you wondered that too? I wondered this often growing up. I mean, God forgives our sins so can’t we just do what we want to do? After all, I prayed “the prayer” so I’m in, right? That’s another topic I want to explore in a future post (what does it truly mean to believe?) but these are the thoughts I wrestled with as a teen and even as a young adult. The following is my attempt to answer that question in a short, devotional type format for teens.

Why does God care what I do? Why does God care if I drink underage or if I sleep with my boyfriend? Why does He care what I listen to or watch?? These are valid questions that most of us who encounter God must ask. However, when we pull back, I think the root of this question asks - why does God care what I do with my life? I think this question boils down to purpose. To answer that question, we need to ask what kind of God the God of the Bible is and why he created you.

Who is the God of the Bible?

            There are countless ways to answer this question, and people have written long books with much more detailed answers than what I have space for here. But let’s focus on why the God of the Bible is different from other God of say Hinduism or Islam. The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created all the earth and it was good (Genesis 1). God then created humans, specifically Adam and Eve. Yet, this creation was unique because, unlike everything else on earth, man was made in God’s image and completed creation which God said was “very good.” Genesis then tells us how Adam and Eve rebelled against God by eating the forbidden fruit, and sin entered the world (Genesis 3). That sin broke man’s perfect relationship with God. Sin resulted in not just a physical death but also a spiritual death that is passed from the line of Adam to the rest of creation.

            So how is the God of the Bible different from other gods? Many religions tell of ways to “get right” with god. There may be sacrifices or good deeds or living a morally pure life in the hopes that you can be good enough to satisfy god. However, Christianity is different. Because 2,000 years ago, God sent his own son to earth as a man, and after living a sinless life, he offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to pay the price for your sin. Not only did he die a gruesome death, but he rose from the grave 3 days later so that you too can be brought from spiritual death to spiritual life!

Romans 6:5-7 says it like this, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”

So, that’s who God is, but why were you created? God created you, and He did so for a purpose – so, what is that purpose?

Read Matthew 5:16, 1 Corinthians 10:31-33, and 1 Peter 4:11 (ESV)

What do the scriptures say is the purpose of your life?

How may God be asking you to re-align your life with his purposes? 

My three-year-old learned a sweet song at Bible Study Fellowship, and I often hear her singing it. It goes like this, “What is the purpose of my life? My purpose is to know God, love him, enjoy him, and glorify Him.” So why does God care about what you do? Because he loves you, He gave his life for you so that you could spend eternity with Him. He did not create you just to bounce around doing whatever feels good in the moment. No, He created you, specifically you, for a purpose. He has good things in store for you, and his love for you is why he cares about what you do. He loves you so much that he gave you scripture so that you have a guide for how to live a flourishing life.

Pray and ask God to help you take a step towards flourishing today.