Why on earth are you here?

Have you ever had one of those seemingly perfect moments in life when everything just came together? It may have been a stunning sunset, a beautiful, star-filled night or an unforgettable moment with someone you love. You thought to yourself, "I always want it to be this way." But it isn't.

Maybe you thought when you reached certain goals you have set in life, then that would bring complete fulfillment to you. But they haven't.

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Or when that right person came into your life, the man or woman of your dreams, then that would satisfy the sense of longing deep within you. But it didn't.

Why is that? From the day you were born, you have been on a quest. Now as another year winds down and a new year looms before you, that sense of "looking for something" tugs at the back of your mind again. You've been searching for that something more, because deep down inside, you feel that life must have some kind of meaning and purpose beyond mere existence. Maybe you've even wondered if you're the only person who feels this way. You aren't.

Most of us – at one time of our life or another – would admit to an inner restlessness that prompts us to ask ourselves, "Is this all there is?" One of the most successful, wealthy and well-known entertainers in the world told an interviewer not long ago "I think a few years ago, I wasn't sure what I was on this earth for. I think I was mostly concerned with getting things for myself: more clothes, more money, more popularity and more boyfriends. I wasn't really thinking; I was just doing. Then I woke up and said, 'What am I on this earth for?'"

Maybe you are wondering, "What am I on this earth for?" When you are young, you think, "If only I were older, say, 18! The big kids have all the fun!" When you're 18 you say, "Twenty one! That's the age I need to be!" Then when you're 21, you think to yourself, "No one takes me seriously yet. I can't wait until I'm in my 30s." Then you hit 30. You say, "When I'm in my 40s, then I will have arrived! Those are the earning years!" Then the 40s come, and you find yourself wistfully wishing you were young again: "I wish I were in my teen years again. Man, we had some fun times back then!"

Then the 50s and 60s arrive. And before you know it, you have more of your life behind you than ahead of you.

Yes, life passes by much too quickly. And sooner or later, every thinking person gets around to asking the questions, "What is the meaning of life?" "Why am I here on this earth?" "Why do I exist?" and "What should be my purpose in life?"

We all have built into us as humans the desire to achieve something, to make a mark, to distinguish ourselves. We all want our lives to count for something bigger and greater than ourselves. This desire for greatness is not in itself wrong. God essentially wired us this way. It's built into us. The Bible tells us that God "has put eternity in [our] hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). This verse tells us why we find, deep within our souls, a yearning to rise above the commonplace, the ordinary.

But why this desire to make our mark? Because, as humans, we were uniquely created in the very image of God himself. We are the highest of all created beings. We don't want to think our lives don't matter, that existence is somehow meaningless. We want to live life to its fullest.

Yes, life is moving by more quickly than we would like to admit. We all want immortality. But let me say something that may surprise you: immortality is not something you achieve; it is something you already have. You will live forever. Good news? That all depends, doesn't it?

Let's say, for example, that I said to you, "I just bought you a plane ticket to go on vacation for five years, all expenses paid!" You would probably say, "That's great!"

But first you should ask, "'Where is this plane ticket to?"

If I said, "Outer Siberia – in the dead of winter," you might not be too eager to take me up on my offer. But if I were to say the plane ticket was to Hawaii or Tahiti, it would be a different matter.

So our question should not be so much, "How can I live forever and be immortal?" Rather, it should be, "Where will I live forever, since I am immortal?"

You can take questions like that to your local Borders or Barnes & Noble stores or a public library and encounter all kinds of books looking at life from all sorts of angles through every imaginable lens. One author speculates one thing, and the author in the book right next to it will tell you the exact opposite. One book (with great passion) urges you one way, and the next one you pick up (with equal passion) warns you to never go that way.

So many of us are left with a lot of question marks and contradictory advice. Where do we turn, as our calendar turns over this new year? Here's a thought: you might give the Bible a try. Why, you ask? Because it's been the world's bestseller ever since the printing press was invented; it's been around for thousands of years, and there have been people in every generation in every corner of the world, who say that it's the best book they ever read. The Bible has an amazing amount of specifics about things we wouldn't otherwise know. It's kind of like an AAA guidebook through this thing called "life." It not only tells us how to have the best journey possible, but it also tells us about our ultimate destination, when our brief stay on earth concludes.

Simply stated, the Bible is God's message to you.

At the end of 2008, you'll probably look back at all the things you did that you'd never expected to do. If getting into the Bible happens to make that list, it may be the most surprising year ever.