The Purpose Of Life

Intro

In this message, I want to give you a framework for understanding the events that occur in your life. What is God always doing in your life? Why does he have you here on planet earth? What is the real meaning and purpose of life? The Bible gives answers to these profound questions, and those answers give context to everything that you’re experiencing: in the past, in the present, and in your future.

That which I am about to share with you does not eliminate the need to trust God. It gives a foundation for doing so. It provides a framework for putting events in perspective. It provides assurance that it is all moving toward a worthy outcome. For the Christian, that outcome is glorious. The long-term future of the unbeliever is terrifying. But even for that person, God is working to provide opportunity to know him, submit to him, and receive eternal life through the cross of Christ. God is actively seeking and saving those who will receive his mercy. The salvation Jesus purchased is for “whoever” will (John 3:16). Will you receive his offer of eternal life? Have you received it? For those who have bowed the knee to Christ, God is managing the affairs of their lives working all things together for their good (Rom. 8:28).

We must live by faith because God does not tell us everything. He tells us in his word what we need to know in order to live a full and rewarding life. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”i

There will always be a degree of mystery in life. Wisdom teaches us to trust God with those unknowns. For example, you and I do not know the day and hour of Christ’s return. It is utter folly to fret over that. We learn what we can from the Bible and trust God with what is not revealed. We are told everything we need to know in order to be ready for that event. Our part is to be ready—stay ready. We do not have to know the day and hour in order to be ready.

Another example of “the secret things [that] belong to the Lord” is the day and hour of our own death or the death of our loved ones. Occasionally, God reveals that. I have an ancestor who was a Methodist circuit preacher. God told him when he would die. He sent the word out to friends and parishioners. Many came to say goodbye before his departure. Sure enough, God took him at the appointed time. But as a rule, we must trust God’s wisdom without knowing when God will take us home.

What I am about to share in this message does not answer those secret-thing questions. However, this message will help you make some sense of all the events in your life. In fact, you would do well to process your experiences in this framework.

Life is not a chaotic series of meaningless chance events. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Ps. 37:23). God is overseeing your life, ordering the events so that his good intentions toward you get accomplished. Life has meaning and purpose, and God’s purpose for you in this life revolves around three objectives:

1. Knowing God. Life is an opportunity to know God. Events occur so that you may know him better as you proceed. Deeping your relationship with God is extremely important.

2. Being Conformed to the Image of Christ. Life is a preparation for eternity. People go to college to get the education they need to equip them for the job they will do in their career. God is preparing you for an assignment far more significant than anything you have seen in this life. This life is a training ground for bigger and better things.

3. Helping Others toward Those Two Goals. It is about you, but it is not just about you. God wants to use you to help others know him. He wants to use the gifts in you to equip others for their ministries in this life and for eternity.

Those three objectives will provide the structure for this teaching.

I. KNOWINGS GOD

Our understanding of life must begin where the Bible begins. Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God....” The center of the universe is not me. Our humanistic society has drifted toward that error. As long as I am central to everything, life will be quite confusing. In fact, that is a formula for a miserable life. Paradoxically, he who finds his life by making himself the number one priority will lose it in the long run. Jesus said, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). Most people fail to live a fulfilling, meaningful life because they do not heed this paradoxical truth. They make personal satisfaction, pleasure, and fulfillment their objective in life. They make their choices based on that objective. Ironically, they fail to achieve the goal because it is their top priority.