Why did God create humans?

Someone on a group blog I'm a part of recently asked "why did God create humans?" The answer is literally "In the beginning." In the first two chapters of Genesis, the first two chapters of the Bible, God tells us about Creation. Let's read what God says about the things He created, specifically on days 3, 5, and 6. On day 3, recorded in Genesis 1:11-13, the grass, herbs, and fruits are made "according to its kind." On day 5, recorded in Genesis 1:20-23, the animals of the oceans and the air are made "according to its kind." On day 6, recorded in Genesis 1:24-25, the animals of the land are made "according to its kind." It's after the animals, on day 6, that man is made, read Genesis 1:26-28. But man is NOT made according to its kind. God says "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." Man comes from the likeness of God! Nothing God made before man was of His likeness. Everything He made, like the trees and the animals, had their own separate identity; those things were not of God's spirit. They were of their own kind. Thus, a tree, an animal, or a wooden image is not God and does not represent Him. Man is the only thing God made that has a direct relationship to Him. Man, however, is NOT God. God is the Creator and we are the created thing. Think of it this way. You are of the likeness of your parents. You are not your parents. You are not a clone of them. But you are of their likeness. If you read Genesis 2:7 it explains how God made man. God put His own breath into man! That is very intimate. God had such a special connection to this thing called man that God put His own breath into man. Nowhere else in the Creation story do you see God do that. God wants you! We are made in His likeness, in His breath, by His spirit. Like parents who long to have a child to be a part of their family, so does God want you to be a part of His family. Many different times throughout the Bible God says: "They will be My people and I will be their God" (Jeremiah 32:38, Ezekiel 37:23, Hebrews 8:10, and others). He wants to be our God and Father. That's why God created man, created you. It was intentional. The circumstances surrounding your creation may have been less than optimal. But God knew it and knew you were coming, no cosmic accidents. Psalm 139:13-16 explains how God formed you in the womb. How He knew you before you were even formed and no one else knew you existed yet (including your mother). And more importantly, it talks of how your future was planned even though you hadn't even been born. Ephesians 1:4 talks of God choosing us before the foundation of the world. In the Creation story, God gives the man and woman a mission. He gives them a purpose, read Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:4-7. As Psalm 139:16 and Ephesians 2:10 state, God has a future and mission that was made for you. God created humans because He wanted them and has a purpose for them. If you really think about that, it can change your outlook on a lot of things.

The Creation story is really quite amazing and has so much to teach us. If anyone is interested in learning more about Creation, please check out a website called answersingenesis.org. I referenced this organization and the Ark Encounter in my prior blog from 7/29/2021.