The Hard Questions
- Thread starter expiated
- Start date
What is the meaning (i.e., purpose) of life?
(as answered by excerpts from qotquestion.org...)
In the book of Genesis, we find a clue to the meaning of life in the fact that God created mankind in His image. This means that we are more like God than we are like anything else. We also find that, before mankind fell and the curse of sin came upon the earth, the following things were true:
- God made man a social creature (Genesis 2:18–25)
- God gave man work (Genesis 2:15)
- God had fellowship with man (Genesis 3:8)
- God gave man dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26)
So then, the real meaning of life, both now and in eternity, is found in the restoration of our relationship with God. This restoration is only possible through God's Son, Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to God. Salvation and eternal life are gained when we trust in Jesus Christ as Savior. Once that salvation is received by grace through faith, Christ makes us new creations, and we begin the progressive journey of growing closer to Him and learning to rely on Him.
God wants us to know the meaning of life. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." A "full" life is logically one that is meaningful and devoid of aimless wandering.
Moreover, the meaning of life is wrapped up in the glory of God. In calling His elect, God says, "Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them." (Isaiah 43:7, NLT)
The reason we were made is for God's glory. Any time we substitute our own glory for God's, we miss the meaning of life. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." (Matthew 16:24–25) "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)
The Bible is very clear as to what our purpose in life should be. Men in both the Old and New Testaments sought for and discovered life's purpose. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, discovered the futility of life when it is lived only for this world. He gives these concluding remarks in the book of Ecclesiastes: "Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Solomon says that life is all about honoring God with our thoughts and lives and thus keeping His commandments, for one day we will stand before Him in judgment. Part of our purpose in life is to fear God and obey Him.
Another part of our purpose is to see life on this earth in perspective. Unlike those whose focus is on this life, King David looked for His satisfaction in the time to come. He said, "And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness." (Psalm 17:15)
To David, full satisfaction would come on the day when he awoke (in the next life) both beholding God’s face (fellowship with Him) and being like Him. (1 John 3:2)
In Psalm 73, Asaph talks about how he was tempted to envy the wicked who seemed to have no cares and built their fortunes upon the backs of those they took advantage of, but then he considered their ultimate end. In contrast to what they sought after, he states in verse 25 what mattered to him: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you." (verse 25)
To Asaph, a relationship with God mattered above all else in life. Without that relationship, life has no real purpose.
The apostle Paul talked about all he had achieved religiously before being confronted by the risen Christ, and he concluded that all of it was like a pile of manure compared to the excellence of knowing Christ Jesus. In Philippians 3:9-10, Paul says that he wants nothing more than to know Christ and "be found in Him," to have His righteousness and to live by faith in Him, even if it meant suffering and dying. Paul's purpose was knowing Christ, having a righteousness obtained through faith in Him, and living in fellowship with Him, even when that brought on suffering. (2 Timothy 3:12) Ultimately, he looked for the time when he would be a part of the "resurrection from the dead."
Our purpose in life, as God originally created man, is 1) glorify God and enjoy fellowship with Him, 2) have good relationships with others, 3) work, and 4) have dominion over the earth.
But with man's fall into sin, fellowship with God is broken, relationships with others are strained, work seems to always be frustrating, and man struggles to maintain any semblance of dominion over nature. Consequently...
Only by restoring fellowship with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, can purpose in life be rediscovered. [i.e., realized]
The purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We glorify God by fearing and obeying Him, keeping our eyes on our future home in heaven, and knowing Him intimately. We enjoy God by following His purpose for our lives, which enables us to experience true and lasting joy—the abundant life that He desires for us.
Well said!!! I couldn't agree more! Thank you for posting this.
This partial quote from your post presents just one of the many reasons that I love God:
Our purpose in life, as God originally created man, is 1) glorify God and enjoy fellowship with Him...
When I was young, I often felt like I was an alien who was not of this world and who didn't really fit on this planet. That totally went away once I found my identity in Christ and viewed myself as a child of God—as a member of His family. Now I never feel alone. A lot of people believe Christianity is all about trying to be good or sinless. I think perhaps most of the folks who end up "leaving" the church probably fall into this category, not recognizing that what Christianity is actually about is fellowship/communion with our Creator, with the Savior of the world and with the Holy Spirit. (Sanctification is more of a byproduct.)
Most define "evil" by the flesh, as in killing, adultery, and hardship of human emotion...the essence of "God" is free will, and the beauty of creation is translation, as in each creature originating from mankind will be translated either on to the right or left side. For death is the salt of life, pleasure the sugar of life, spice the wisdom of life...who so ever that seeks last will find that the first is a story, the second something children enjoy, the last only a journeyman would need because he has to walk a long way to find his wife at home...what is dust in the wind? the image of a man in time...
Why Do People Do Wrong?
The Absurdity of Sin and the Darkness of the Human Heart
(Excerpts from a transcript of a podcast uploaded to The Briefing by Dr. Albert Mohler on Tuesday, November 23, 2021)
As you think about this, you recognize the inadequacy of a secular worldview, trying to answer this question. But at the same time you see that worldview, or those who are operating out of that worldview, trying to get to the biggest question. The biggest question of course is: Why [do people do wrong]? Why would anyone have done this [terrible act]? What does the crime mean? What would've been the motivation behind it?
What was the motive? Why would anyone do this? Now, one of the things we need to note is that in our contemporary context, driven primarily by a secular worldview, the options are pretty limited to come up with explanations of why. For one thing, you really can't deal much with the idea of inherent evil. Instead, you have to look for some other explanation. There must be some sociological explanation. You see this playing out in so many public debates.
Perhaps there's a political or an economic motivation. Given the worldwide context of terrorism, people began to ask the question, rather automatically, was this a terrorist attack? Was it personal? That's another interesting question. Was it personal? Was this an effort to try to bring about homicide or injury to specific individuals against which the [perpetrator] was aggrieved?
There was no sign...that there was any kind of organized ideology behind this. There was no link to any kind of terrorist network. When it comes to the understanding that it might have been personal...officials...have...dismissed that...as a reality.
Instead, there is this effort to try to come up with some explanation that would make evil rational, that would make this irrational attack explainable in rational terms. Now, here's where Christians understand, that there are limits to how rational irrationality can be. When we think about evil, we need to understand that the Christian worldview presents evil in a multifaceted way. It is first of all, a rebellion or a revolt against God. Now, in that sense, very importantly, evil predates creation, because the fall of Satan and his fallen angels came before the creation of the world. Evil thus as rebellion against God already existed.
And God given his sovereignty, his omnipotence, and his glory, his justice and his righteousness, even before the creation of the world, God was determined that he would bring evil to an end. That's very clear in the revelation of God's own character and power. But then of course came the creation of the world. And shortly, after the creation of human beings made in God's image, we sinned.
That's right. The scripture says that Adam and Eve sinned. But, the Scripture also says that "In Adam we sinned." Let's try to come up with a rational explanation for the fall. In reality, it simply can't be explained in rational terms at all. Rationally, Adam should never have sinned against God. Rationally, Adam should never have yielded to temptation. Rationally, Adam should have looked at the entire creation along with Eve and understood it to be good and given to us for our enjoyment in the garden.
But, there was that one tree and that one tree became an irrational obsession. After the fall, evil has become an inescapable part of human experience. Not just in the world out there, not just in the headlines... but in our own experience and in our own lives. Indeed, the scripture says "In our own hearts." And this means that even within ourselves, evil has a rational expression—but it has irrational roots. We cannot explain, even with satisfaction to ourselves, why we see ourselves fall short of our own expectations. That's the kind of testimony we see from the apostle Paul in Romans 7.
Here is the rational and the irrational dimension that is so central to the biblical worldview. This [monster], we are likely to discover, had at least some rational plan, some rational motivation to conduct evil. He used his reason. He used his intelligence. He used his bodily presence to carry out [mayhem].
There is not going to be an acceptable secular answer. Psychology can get you only so far... criminology, only so far... sociology, politics, economics, only so far. Even genetics. People are trying to look for some genetic or biological basis for all kinds of things. But in reality, the secular worldview simply doesn't have the equipment to answer the question about the absurdity of sin. What we see here is the darkness of the human heart. And we know, in biblical terms and in contemporary terms, even if we are honest, in personal terms, just how dark that can be—just how irrational, just how inexplicable, [and] just how contrary to our own good.
The allure of evil is one of the earliest truths we learn in scripture. It's...not wrong to want to know more, to want to know why. But, in reality, let's just face this up front. There will never be, in secular terms, an adequate satisfactory answer to the question: Why?
The Absurdity of Sin and the Darkness of the Human Heart
(Excerpts from a transcript of a podcast uploaded to The Briefing by Dr. Albert Mohler on Tuesday, November 23, 2021)
As you think about this, you recognize the inadequacy of a secular worldview, trying to answer this question. But at the same time you see that worldview, or those who are operating out of that worldview, trying to get to the biggest question. The biggest question of course is: Why [do people do wrong]? Why would anyone have done this [terrible act]? What does the crime mean? What would've been the motivation behind it?
What was the motive? Why would anyone do this? Now, one of the things we need to note is that in our contemporary context, driven primarily by a secular worldview, the options are pretty limited to come up with explanations of why. For one thing, you really can't deal much with the idea of inherent evil. Instead, you have to look for some other explanation. There must be some sociological explanation. You see this playing out in so many public debates.
Perhaps there's a political or an economic motivation. Given the worldwide context of terrorism, people began to ask the question, rather automatically, was this a terrorist attack? Was it personal? That's another interesting question. Was it personal? Was this an effort to try to bring about homicide or injury to specific individuals against which the [perpetrator] was aggrieved?
There was no sign...that there was any kind of organized ideology behind this. There was no link to any kind of terrorist network. When it comes to the understanding that it might have been personal...officials...have...dismissed that...as a reality.
Instead, there is this effort to try to come up with some explanation that would make evil rational, that would make this irrational attack explainable in rational terms. Now, here's where Christians understand, that there are limits to how rational irrationality can be. When we think about evil, we need to understand that the Christian worldview presents evil in a multifaceted way. It is first of all, a rebellion or a revolt against God. Now, in that sense, very importantly, evil predates creation, because the fall of Satan and his fallen angels came before the creation of the world. Evil thus as rebellion against God already existed.
And God given his sovereignty, his omnipotence, and his glory, his justice and his righteousness, even before the creation of the world, God was determined that he would bring evil to an end. That's very clear in the revelation of God's own character and power. But then of course came the creation of the world. And shortly, after the creation of human beings made in God's image, we sinned.
That's right. The scripture says that Adam and Eve sinned. But, the Scripture also says that "In Adam we sinned." Let's try to come up with a rational explanation for the fall. In reality, it simply can't be explained in rational terms at all. Rationally, Adam should never have sinned against God. Rationally, Adam should never have yielded to temptation. Rationally, Adam should have looked at the entire creation along with Eve and understood it to be good and given to us for our enjoyment in the garden.
But, there was that one tree and that one tree became an irrational obsession. After the fall, evil has become an inescapable part of human experience. Not just in the world out there, not just in the headlines... but in our own experience and in our own lives. Indeed, the scripture says "In our own hearts." And this means that even within ourselves, evil has a rational expression—but it has irrational roots. We cannot explain, even with satisfaction to ourselves, why we see ourselves fall short of our own expectations. That's the kind of testimony we see from the apostle Paul in Romans 7.
Here is the rational and the irrational dimension that is so central to the biblical worldview. This [monster], we are likely to discover, had at least some rational plan, some rational motivation to conduct evil. He used his reason. He used his intelligence. He used his bodily presence to carry out [mayhem].
There is not going to be an acceptable secular answer. Psychology can get you only so far... criminology, only so far... sociology, politics, economics, only so far. Even genetics. People are trying to look for some genetic or biological basis for all kinds of things. But in reality, the secular worldview simply doesn't have the equipment to answer the question about the absurdity of sin. What we see here is the darkness of the human heart. And we know, in biblical terms and in contemporary terms, even if we are honest, in personal terms, just how dark that can be—just how irrational, just how inexplicable, [and] just how contrary to our own good.
The allure of evil is one of the earliest truths we learn in scripture. It's...not wrong to want to know more, to want to know why. But, in reality, let's just face this up front. There will never be, in secular terms, an adequate satisfactory answer to the question: Why?
Last edited:
%%
ONE lady called in a radio program; and asked if she should tithe, since Malachi was written to ISRAEL.LOL
They should payoff their debt first..., then when one has the excess of their fields harvest they can give to the foreigner without a field to harvest...last time I checked people have a mortgage to pay & a retirement of fund...%%
ONE lady called in a radio program; and asked if she should tithe, since Malachi was written to ISRAEL.LOL