The Point of It All

"What is the meaning of life?" The question has been pursued by philosophers for millennia, and has been the wrestling point of every man at some point in his life. Some people spend their whole lives as if the purpose was to find the meaning of life, only to die with nothing to show for their efforts.

The problem most people face when confronting the ultimate question is that the answer is not part of this world. People search our mutual home of a flying rock in every nook and cranny: in wealth, in sustenance, in family, in friends, in sex, in charity, in art, in culture, in nature, and everywhere else. Nothing they can see or touch offers any hope, any answers, or any substance.

Most people eventually realize that this earth holds no fulfillment. They react in one of two ways: they either give up on the quest for purpose and assume that nothing matters in the end, or they seek the intangible and the spiritual, the things that go beyond our world. Thus religion comes into play. Considering the name of my blog, I am certain you know where I believe the true answers are to be found. Those who find Jesus Christ, the self-sacrificing God, find the why the universe is.

Or do they?

It has come to my attention that many who profess Christ still just don't understand the fundamental question, "Why?" They know that they were lost, and now are found, and are called to share the Gospel. Usually, they are content to know those things. Now, these are beautiful truths, but look around. The Church is not much better than dead. In our world, immorality is rampant, billions are lost, Christians are doing next to nothing, over a seventh of the world has never heard of Christ, and humanism reigns supreme. Why? Many agree that the problem is an ineffective Church. But why is the Church so ineffective? Answers range from the viable to the ridiculous, from Biblical illiteracy to rap music, but I think it may be much simpler. Could it be that the Church is ineffective because so many Christians just don't know the meaning of life?

If you ask the average collection of Americans what they think the meaning of life is, you will get an overwhelming variety of responses. For some reason, though, if you ask the same question to Christians only, you will still get a huge range of answers. Many will even confess ignorance. This leads me to a simple and almost scary conclusion. I believe that the primary problem with the Church today is that Christians don't see the point of it all. We have an idea of the things we're supposed to do, but we don't see the big picture. We don't know why.

My intention now is to explain the purpose of life from the Word of God, and not just our lives, but all of history. I want to show God's grand scheme of things, and the ultimate end to which He works all things.

The Purpose of a Life

The purpose of any given human life is to glorify God. No matter who you are, where you are, what life you live, or even if you are saved or not, God will use your life to glorify Himself. The case can really be built from only a few simple texts:

"When Jesus heard it, He said, 'This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.'" John 11:4

I didn't actually plan on this, but the first demonstration of the purpose of glory is the most shocking. Let me put this in the most revealing way possible: God made a righteous man, a close friend of His Son, fall ill and die so that He could be glorified. Forget that Lazarus was resurrected for a moment; he still suffered in sickness and in death. I'm not saying this to make God look bad, but to make an important point. Nothing matters compared to the glory of God, including us. If God would be supremely glorified by wiping out everyone on earth, He would do so. In fact, that's almost exactly what He did in the flood. Finally, note the similarity of Lazarus' incident and the little girl in Mark 5. If you didn't get the idea the first time, try this: God made a little girl fall ill and die so that He could be glorified. God's glory is the most important thing, more important that you, me, or anyone else.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

This oft-quoted verse has an overlooked but staggering implication. Think about the structure of this verse. Which part is presented as the greatest tragedy? It's not the sin. It's how all fall short of God's glory. Imagine a similar sentence to see this more clearly: I missed the basket and lost the game. What's the big problem there? It's losing the game. Missing the basket simply contributed to that. The problem that necessitates our salvation is primarily how we fall short of the glory of God. Our lives are, by nature, too corrupt to glorify God. We are so evil and sinful that we can't glorify God, and thus, because we can't glorify God, the only suitable consequence is condemnation.

"We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:2

The hope which we rejoice in is that of the glory of God. "Wait, I thought our hope was Heaven, or eternal life?" you ask. Here's the thing: the glory of God is what makes Heaven what it is. Without the glory of God, we would be looking forward to a nice place. According to John 17:3, "This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent — Jesus Christ." In Heaven, we will know God in all of His glory, and that is the eternal life we hope for. Our lives should be oriented towards the hope of the glory of God.

"Therefore accept one another, just as the Messiah also accepted you, to the glory of God." Romans 15:7

Why does God want us to accept other Christians? The same reason that Jesus accepted us: to glorify God. "Hold up! I thought that Jesus accepted us because He loves us." Well, now you've stumbled onto the greatest mystery of God: His love for us is a means for His glory. His passion to sacrifice for us is ultimately rooted in His passion to glorify Himself. "But I thought love was all about the other person, not self-seeking!" Maybe for us, but the goal of love is the greatest good of the other person. God and His glory are the greatest Good the world can know, thus for God to love us is for Him to want us to glorify Him. Ultimately, God must put Himself first. If He didn't, wouldn't He be an idolater? Even so, the theocentric (God-centered) nature of His love doesn't make it any less genuine. No one, especially not an all-glorious God, would die on a cross because of anything less than genuine, passionate love.

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory." 1 Corinthians 10:31

This, then, is the end. Your life exists to fulfill this command. You were born to live out this command all of your days. This is where so many of us fail. Remember: this is a command. To not obey this command is to sin (James 4:17). I think the fact that we don't understand and commit to this command is the reason that we have so much ineffectiveness as Christians. We don't know exactly what we're doing or what our goal is, so we try to just get by and hope it is enough to be good and not commit any obvious sins. We need to remember our goal in order to be effective Christians. God made us to glorify Him.

The Purpose of Life

Of course, we're not all that there is. We live briefly, lasting at longest around a century. Compare that to the 6,000 to 10,000 years mankind has been around. The ultimate question is not just why any of us exists. The question is why God made man as a whole at all. Why did God bother to create a physical universe, fill it with His imagination, and then create man in His own image? The reason is the same as the reason for our lives. Everything, from the oldest history to the ends of eternity, from Genesis to Revelation, is unified under the purpose of the glory of God. That's it. In the grand scheme of all, God's glory is central. Some try to say that God's love is all, but, as I pointed out earlier, God's love serves primarily to glorify Himself. The sum of reality is for the glory of God. This too can be proved throughout Scripture.

"However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth." Exodus 9:16

Why did God spare Pharaoh from immediate eradication after He refused to let Israel go? Why draw it out with ten plagues over all of Egypt? He did it to show His power and make His name known in all the earth. That's why He absolutely demolished Egypt for Pharaoh's mistake (not that most Egyptians probably disagreed with him). In ten plagues, God showed His power over ten of Egypt's false gods, all to His glory.

"But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made Myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt." Ezekiel 20:9

Guess what action this verse is referring to: the exodus. In this recount of God's covenant history with Israel, God explains why He so graciously delivered them from Egypt and refrained from destroyed them in the wilderness, despite their idolatry and selfishness. All the nations had heard of Yahweh, how He brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and God didn't want to let the Jews' disobedience dishonor Him over the world. See how powerfully this demonstrates His love for His glory.

"I will delay My anger for the honor of My name, and I will restrain Myself for your benefit and for My praise, so that you will not be destroyed." Isaiah 48:9

The reason for God's intense mercy on Israel, the reason that He loved the Jews, is revealed in this verse. He did it for the honor of His name. God loved Israel enough to spare them because it would glorify Him to do so. Again, the glory of God comes above all.

"For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth — and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11

I think most Christians would agree that Jesus is the protagonist of the Bible. So, Jesus is the character the Bible is all about, the One to be praised and exalted from its reading. But wait a second. Look at the purpose of glorifying Jesus as Lord. It is "to the glory of God the Father." Jesus makes up all of redemptive history. Jesus is the focus of Genesis, when the Messiah was promised, to Revelation, when the Messiah returns in glory. Yet all of Jesus' glory has an ultimate purpose: the glory of God the Father. All of history goes to this. In the end, God's glory reigns supreme. Everything that ever has happened, is happening, and will happen is engineered for the glory of God.

"But how can that be?" you say. "Surely sin doesn't glorify God, but it's all over history!" While it is true that sin is dishonorable to God, that is only from a small perspective. For one, God is glorified in forgiveness, which actually requires sin. Redemption, one of the greatest expressions of God's glory, cannot exist without sin. In addition, the sin that remains in those who refuse to believe still ultimately results in the glory of God, because His justice is revealed in the last judgment when He casts all who bear sin into the Lake of Fire once and for all. Salvation and judgment work together in an intricate, divine pattern throughout history. So, while sin and suffering look bad on their own, in the big picture they contribute to the structure of a beautiful portrait of the glory of God. This is truly the end of history. When all is said and done, God will be perfectly glorified in His mercy and His justice.

How to Glorify God

"How to glorify God? I thought you just said that the God will be supremely glorified in the end, anyway, so why would I need to know how?" My answer is simple: God will achieve His glory both in His personal actions and the actions of His people. The lost world is incapable of caring about glorifying God, but we are on God's team. God redeemed us to Himself in love, so we should be willing to give Him the glory He so richly deserves and desires. Also remember that we were told in 1 Corinthians 10:31 to do everything to the glory of God. Obviously, that means that there is a way to live our lives that brings more glory to God than other ways.

So, then, how can we glorify God? The answer is stunningly simple: enjoy Him.

"What?!"

That's right. The best way to glorify God is to take pleasure in Him, to delight in Him, to want Him, to crave Him.

"That's heresy! The Bible says that we glorify God by doing His work!"

Ah, so you've been reading your Bible, I see. John 17:4 tells us what Jesus said about glorifying God in His own ministry. "I have glorified You on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do." Other places in the Gospels (i.e. Matthew 5:16) and the New Testament in general say that You glorify God by doing the works of God. So, what? Am I openly contradicting the Bible? No. I entirely believe that You glorify God by doing His works. However, I also believe that most of the glory is not derived from the works themselves. It is drawn from our hearts as we work. Think of the church at Ephesus, for example.

"I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary. But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent." Revelation 2:2-5

Now look at this. These people were doing the works of God. Jesus Himself said so. However, they left out a key piece: they weren't doing them out of love for God. They weren't doing them because they delight in God, or because they had such a taste for God they wanted to make His name great.

"But love for God isn't about how they feel about God!"

Then what were they lacking, exactly? They had the works, apparently pretty good works. Think of the Old Testament, how many times God rebuked Israel for doing His works (sacrifices and feasts) but refusing to love Him with their hearts.

"Yeah, but Jesus said they were missing agape! Everyone knows agape love isn't about feelings!"

Maybe. Let me ask you a question, though. Can you truly be devoted to God and seeking to glorify Him without having good feelings about Him? Think about that. That just doesn't make sense. We are supposed to be zealous for God, as the Bible elsewhere shows. Who on this earth are you zealous for? Your spouse, your children, your parents? Okay, so tell me this: do you have feelings for them? Do you have loving feelings towards those with whom you have an earthly attachment? Of course! If you don't, people will call you a psychopath! God is our Father; Christ is our Brother.

I would like to clarify that love for God is not based solely on feelings, by any means. Feelings can change quite easily at times, and a relationship with the all-glorious Creator must be more stable. To love God requires equal parts emotion, will, and intellect. This is the meaning of the command to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37). In fact, to show the fullness of the Greek words involved (kardia, psuche, and dianoia, respectively), see this alternative, expanded translation of the same command:

"Love the Lord your God with all your feelings, with all your deepest passion, and with all your thoughts and reason."

One of the problems we run into in trying to live for God is that we let our love get out of balance. In fact, different denominations tend to lean towards different imbalances. I've been raised Southern Baptist, and we tend to rely too much on mind-love. Many of my friends are Pentecostal, and the tendency there is to rely too much on heart-love. Roman Catholicism (yes, its validity is greatly debatable) tends to rely too much on will-love.

The best way to do glorify God is to love His doctrines in your mind, to love His works in your will, and to love His glory and presence in your heart. If you have good theology and study the Scriptures, you are loving God with your mind. If you live with integrity and combat sin effectively, you are loving God with your will. If you truly enjoy God in worship and prayer, and care for His people, you are loving God with your heart. If you are doing all of these things, you are truly loving God. And when you are truly loving God, then you are truly glorifying Him.

Still, an oft-missed key here is to enjoy God. There are plenty of people who live with discipline, knowledge, and integrity, but fail to feel for God. Conversely, there are people who are so caught up in feeling that they lose sight of God and seek experiences instead of living righteously. But if one truly desires God Himself, has a soulful passion for Him, then everything in his life, especially his spiritual life, will fall into place perfectly. When that happens, one is truly glorifying God with his life.

So, then, one problem remains. How can anyone make himself desire and enjoy God? Who can control his own heart? Well, one thing that can be done is to continually expose yourself to God. God is better than any drug, and if you spend enough time in His Word, in prayer, in ministry, and in fellowship, you will probably find yourself becoming addicted. However, I would like to emphasize that your efforts aren't what will make you love God. Though the intellect is easily won, the will is a harder battle, and the heart is nearly impossible. This is where faith comes into play, because "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26). Ultimately, the only way to love God as you should is to simply trust Him to give you "a heart of flesh" with which you can enjoy Him for all He is. You can't tame your heart, but the One who created it can. So have faith. Pray for the love you need. Jesus said, "Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13; there's that glory again).

This truly is a vast topic, and I am embarrassed by how insufficiently I have been able to present it. Fortunately, my limitations needn't hinder your spiritual journey. The theology I have been describing is an introduction to Christian Hedonism, a term coined by John Piper that refers to the belief that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." Should my words ring true with the Scriptures I have given, you may want to go to http://www.desiringgod.org/ for more information.

In conclusion (such an original ending, right?), glorify God. That's the meaning of life. If we all orient our lives around the glory of God, obeying 1 Corinthians 10:31, then we can experience the most satisfaction in God and fulfill His desires for glory as much as possible. In the end, it will all work out for God's maximum glory, but wouldn't you want to be a part of the winning theme of eternity? Maybe, just maybe, if we remember God's glory as the purpose of all, the Church will rally around a unifying goal and be the unstoppable force God intended for it to be. I plan to do my part, should God so empower me. My question: will I have the pleasure of working with you?