“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers– all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Colossians 1:15-17 (NRS)
The meaning of life on this earth has caused humans to search after it for thousands of years. The reason many fail to discover the answer is because they typically begin from the wrong place. They ask questions centered on themselves. But self-centered questions can only generate self-centered responses. Note Paul’s timely questions: “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20 NRS)
Since we didn’t create ourselves, we can’t identify our purpose alone. We must find the creator and allow him to reveal our purpose to us. If we evolved from slime, then slime is all we would ever be and slime is all we could ever produce. But we were made by an all-wise, Eternal God who has a plan and purpose for each of us.
Another fallacy we must reject is the fantasy of success. We can become a huge ‘success’ by the world’s standards and fail to achieve God’s purpose for our lives. The world’s standard of success is full of self-centered motivations and activities. Achieving God’s purpose, however, is focused on God, his Kingdom, and his perspective. We must have more than pop-psychology and cheap self-help in order to envision his purpose.
The search for purpose is not as difficult as many so-called philosophers would have you believe. We have been given a guide book to help us. It introduces us to the Creator and reveals his purpose for our lives. His owner’s manual, the Bible, reveals why we exist, how we are to live in this world, what we are to do about our failures, and gives us hope for our future.
We can find our purpose in life in the guide book “For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25 NRS)
Dear Father, thank you for your grace and mercy. Empower us today with your wisdom and courage. Enable us to discover our purposes and your will for our lives. Give us the spiritual fortitude to achieve all that you envision. This I pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Let us praise God for his plan and live to achieve his purpose,