Finding Purpose In Life

"Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."  (Bertrand Russell, philosopher and mathematician and noteworthy atheist)

"The LORD has made everything for his own purposes..."  (Proverbs 16:4, NLT). 

"Think constantly of him enduring all that sinful men could say against him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage"  (Heb. 12:3, J. B. Phillips). 

"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep...." (Acts 13:36, ESV). 


"It is suicidal to live for yourself and to know no scheme or interest larger than your own little world--we must think outside the box and have a purpose in life.  We can become very busy with no aim in mind, but it will be futile.  We can become a success in the eyes of the world, achieving the so-called American dream and be a failure spiritually.  Every note we strike in this life makes up a chord that will vibrate for all eternity--we don't live for ourselves, but have an effect on others; i.e., no one lives nor dies unto himself, but has an impact and leaves a legacy, good or evil. Life is only a trust, a staging area, a rehearsal, a test or tryout to set us up for eternity; we fit into God's scheme uniquely. We should all seek to leave a legacy larger than life and bigger than ourselves that will have importance and impact in the future.

The point in life is not to have fun, win a lottery of life, become successful, but to contribute something back to society and leave your mark or lasting influence felt.  Einstein said that we shouldn't strive to be a man of success, but a man of value.  No one wants to be forgotten as if they never lived:  the trouble with most is that they live like they'll never die, and die as if they never lived!   We must live each day as if it were our last and always be prepared to meet the Lord of glory in glory!  We should have no unfinished business leftover, and leave no loose ends to tie up.  When we wake up we should say, "Lord, will today be the big day?"  You really aren't ready to live, till you're ready to die and you aren't really living if there's nothing or no one you would die for.  Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friends, according to our Lord.

Everything in the universe was created teleologically (by the intelligent design of a wise Creator),  or with purpose-orientation.  There is a reason for everything in creation, and God doesn't make junk or anything in vain.  That includes you and me and Proverbs 16:4 says God made everything for His purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil!  We should have the conviction that God will fulfill His purpose for us in real time (cf. Psalm 57:2; 138:8, ESV, which says, "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me...."

The very words teleology, purpose, and design are forbidden concepts to secularists who deny there is any rhyme or reason behind creation because these words imply a Designer or Creator.  But you don't have cosmos without logos (the expression or revelation of God: logic)!  If we had no purpose in our cosmos there would be chaos, the enemy of science--but we have laws of the universe to depend on (cf. Job 38:33, ESV, which says, "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?  Can you establish their rule on the earth?") that we can know and manipulate to serve us, and science would be impossible without these laws, which implies a Lawgiver.

Colossians 1:16, MSG, says that everything "finds its purpose in him."  We are like that:  knowing God gives us purpose and meaning, an abundant and fulfilling life with meaning and direction, not chaos.  We are designed to know God and the God-shaped blank in us is only fulfilled by a personal relationship.  If we don't surrender the ownership of our lives to God, it will be chaotic, and not beautiful.  God does have a plan for us according to Jer. 29:11 and we can relinquish our lives to His lordship and behold the new life unfold.  

For He doesn't just change our lives but transforms them.  We become new from the inside out!  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17, ESV).  A full life involves living with a purpose or on purpose, and seeing your mission and finding some ministry to be used by God in service, for we are all servants of Christ in the final analysis.  We live for Christ, not for ourselves and this is the secret of happiness, to get our eyes off ourselves and realize it's not about us!

Nothing in life is haphazard or a fluke (we're no freak accident of nature!)--we are part of an intricate plan and we fit in somewhere because there's no one who doesn't have some special and unique purpose from God.  One noteworthy astronomer has compared the cosmos as one gigantic mathematical equation from the mind of a Great Mathematician!  As Christians, we are vessels of honor, not dishonor or wrath, and rejoice when God uses us to His glory!  

Don't worship at the altar of Almighty Chance and believe in impersonal forces such as fate, chance, luck, nor fortune.  They are all contradictions of God's attributes.  Fate is impersonal, while God is personal and knows us; chance is a nonentity and mathematical odd, while God is a certainty and sure thing; luck is dumb, while God is omniscient; fortune if blind, while God is all-seeing and knows all (Prov. 15:3, ESV, says, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.").

Life is not a game so it isn't all about winning, neither is it a race, that speed is of the essence, and neither is it a marathon, and so endurance and longevity aren't the only factors (we all have an individual race to run tailored for us), it isn't a party either, and therefore having fun is not where it's at, as the main objective; and life isn't a puzzle to figure out and that God is hiding its secrets from us, and only those "in the know" can succeed in life!  Life's secret is in Jesus ("in him was life, and the life was the light of men").

God makes us all good at something and gifted in our own way so that we are suited to do His will and glorify Him:  "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever," according to The Westminster Shorter Catechism!  Let me add that God has no backup plan or Plan B, we need to get with the program and be obedient to the heavenly calling or vision! If you aim for nothing, you will get nowhere!   In conclusion, let's note what Job concluded when God didn't answer his questions about his suffering:  "... 'I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted'"  (Job 42:1, ESV).

In summation, let me quote Isaiah 49:4 (NLT):  "I replied, 'But my work seems so useless!  I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD's hand.  I will trust God for my reward."   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Real Reason For Being

The raison d'etre for the church universal and local is more than to provide a sanctuary and home for worshipers to get their spiritual batteries recharged; its main purpose is to infuse truth into a darkened world that doesn't see the light of day.  Just as Jesus said that He came into the world to bear witness of the truth and that he, who is of the truth, listens to Him, so we are to fearlessly proclaim the gospel truth even if it falls on deaf ears.  It is untoward to us that the German church turned a deaf ear to Hitler and failed to expose him before it was too late--let this be an example to learn from history!

Pastors and preachers have the thankless job of preaching truth and the sign of a prophetic message is that it makes the uneasy feel comfortable, and the comfortable to be thrown out of the comfort zone of ease.  We have too many at ease in Zion today, just as Amos observed.  Yes, complacency has set in and we even have few who are willing to stand up and be counted when the truth or true doctrine is at stake; denouncing heresy and apologizing for the faith has become passe and unpopular, and even uncool!

The way of the world is to live and let live and to become eclectic in our faith, but this kind of philosophy may be doable for an individual in his private life, but it is unthinkable that a church gives up the quest and thirst for truth.  We should never think we've arrived at all truth and that it is shrink-wrapped and freeze-dried, so as to need no new investigation.  Yes, we do know the doctrines of grace and the gospel message, but we are not to think we need not learn more and teach more.  The world looks to the church for salt and light or for a cue to what to do in this evil age.

We need to take stands and fly our colors for the Lord, being willing to follow Him no matter where He leads--and sometimes the truth leads to unwanted places.  We must be willing to go wherever the truth may lead, if we want to ever know the truth; i.e., if you won't admit you're wrong you don't have the right mindset for finding truth--we must admit our ignorance, and this is where churches come in, as they boldly proclaim the truth, even if it offends the standards of society and the norms of culture.  The Bible is the guide, not the variables and givens of this world.

We don't need preachers who are people-pleasers and seek popularity or approval of man and not of God.  We need ones who dare to preach the truth when it hurts and even to their own shame.  In summation: we don't just go to church merely to hear a sermon that will make us feel good, but to go to a sanctuary of the truth and not platitudes--if we cannot rely on the church for this, where else can we go?  As Jude was admonished:  "Contend for the faith" in Jude 4, so we also have a mission to relate Christianity to the real world in application to all areas of life.   Soli Deo Gloria!