I am now 63 years old. I have been a minister, a ‘burger flipper’, a janitor, ‘Q-Tip’ maker, an air craft repairman, an insurance salesman, and now a writer.  These and other things people do are good, but don’t go far enough. There is more to life than ‘doing’. 
   I am a husband, a father, a grandfather, a son, a friend. These are more important than things I do, for they speak of relationships and love. Still, there is more to life than relationships with friends and loved ones. Even these don’t go far enough. 
   I am a Christian, an (imperfect but grateful) possession of Jesus. This gets to the heart of our question, “What on earth am I here for?” Because it deals with my purpose.
   As a Christian, I believe that God is Creator, and that “in the beginning GOD actually did what the Bible says He did. Mankind was made in His image, far different from monkeys.  I believe there was a ‘big bang’ but this was when God ‘spoke’ and things ‘happened’ (Genesis 1 and 2). Faith and trust in God gives me reason and purpose for living. To take away God, is the same as taking away the stars from the sky, which are used by ships to find their way.  
   As a Christian, my life is not based on ‘doing’ or ‘having’ or ‘relating to others’, it is based on my relating to God through Jesus Christ, and in Him, all these other things find their meaning and proper place. In Him I find my genuine reason for being here.   
   The older I get, the more clearly I see that without Jesus, all I have is unanswered questions. Solomon, ‘did it all’ and ‘had it all’. He went after  ”pleasure”, but this proved to be meaningless.  “Laughter,” he said, “is madness.” He tried cheering himself with wine, (sound familiar?) He wanted to see what was good for people to do … during the few days of their lives. He undertook great projects: built great houses, planted vineyards, gardens and parks, with all kinds of fruit trees… He made reservoirs to water groves of trees. He had male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born into his house. He owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem. He amassed silver and gold and treasures of kings and provinces. He had male and female singers, and a harem as well—all the delights of a man’s heart. He became greater than anyone in Jerusalem who had ever live. He denied himself nothing … He refused his heart no pleasure. His heart took delight in all his labor, and this was the reward for all his work. Yet when he surveyed all that his hands had done and what he had worked to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.  (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11).
   The question, “What on earth am I here for?” is not answered in how many things one has, nor by friends or family, as vital as they are. The real meaning of life, and the beginning of wisdom is found in these simple words, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).