LIFE’S CHIEF PURPOSE (1)

“Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have CREATED FOR MY GLORY; I have formed him, yes, I have made him” – Isaiah 43:7

The GLORY of GOD is LIFE’S CHIEF PURPOSE: “Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have CREATED FOR MY GLORY; I have formed him, yes, I have made him” (Isa.43:6). Life’s paramount purpose is: Living to God’s glory and receiving our joy and pleasure in Him. We were created to glorify God by enjoying Him and to do this forever. Everyone longs to understand the purpose of life. The deepest craving of the human spirit is to find a sense of significance and relevance. The search for meaning in life is the ultimate pursuit of man. This internal passion motivates us directly or indirectly; directs our decisions; controls our behavior; and dictates our responses to our environments.

Without purpose, life has no meaning. Multitudes are busy making a living, yet experience very little of life. Those whose sole goal is to amass wealth, have embarked on a depressing journey to nowhere. Those whose passion for life is measured by status, will come to realize that their upkeep will be their downfall, their pursuit of pleasures, their destruction. Without clarity of purpose, life becomes an endless string of activities with little or no significance. Like a rider on a rocking horse, life without purpose makes much motion but no progress. It is dangerous to be alive and not know why we were given life. It is a most frustrating experience to have time but not know why. Without purpose, life would be like “rearranging furniture on the Titanic”!

Thankfully, God has not left us ignorant. He has given us a manual for life with clear instructions about why we are here on earth. But the Bible has no specific section outlining “the purpose of life.” We answer this question as we navigate the grand narrative of Scripture through illumination by our Teacher and Guide, the Holy Spirit. Many over the ages have tried to understand the purpose of life and to summarise it concisely. One of the best known, biblical, helpful and brief summaries of the purpose of life comes from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The first question and answer in the catechism are: What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Our chief end is: To glorify God by enjoying Him forever (vv.6-7). We were created for God. He is worthy of all glory and honour and we were created to exalt, magnify, and worship him. Our life’s purpose is all about God. He is most glorified when we view Him as our all-satisfying Treasure in life, the greatest joy and desire of our hearts. What we enjoy most is what we love most. God wants to be the greatest love of our lives (Mt.22: 37-38). The more we love and enjoy Him, the more He is glorified in our lives!