The Purpose of Life

Continuing on from the prior post. . .

I have heard and read many statements on the topic of the Purpose of Life. Most of them left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. These answers to the purpose of life seem to boil down to three main ideas:

1)  There is no grand purpose to the fact that we exist and live. We are simply part of the ecosystem and must determine our own purpose for living. When we die, we no longer exist. Our dust can help nourish other things to grow.

2)  God created us to praise and worship Him.

3)  God created us for companionship. Since the rest of creation is without free will (angels, etc.) their companionship is not by choice and therefore less than satisfying.

Now let's take these ideas one by one.

1)  This is the basic atheist view. I can actually understand how someone can be an atheist. Can we scientifically prove God's existence or that there is life after death? However, for me the balance falls on the side of the existence of God, from whom all else springs. The atheist viewpoint seems to me to be an incredibly sterile and pointless view of existence.

2)  Certainly, we the created should praise and worship our Creator. That just makes sense. But can I believe that is why he created us? This idea actually gives me a real sense of distaste. Why would a Creator who made the whole universe and is attended by legions of angels and other heavenly creatures need more worship and praise so badly that he made us? That makes God sound like nothing more than an unbelievably terrifying egotist. We are very puny creatures compared to the angels. We need God, but why would he need us? When we have children of our own, do we bring them into the world just to hang around and tell us how wonderful we are?

3) This concept pictures a God who is so pitiful that he must create humanity to have friends. It is usually presented as God's opportunity to have relationships with beings who, having free will, have chosen to be his worshipful companions, rather than having no other choice. If someone is your friend because there is no choice, it is not true friendship, not true communication. However, if there is no free will for the heavenly beings, how did Satan, the former angel of light, rebel against God? And then there is the Trinity; admittedly this is a mind-twisting concept. But, however you understand the Trinity, remember that Scripture says Jesus was there at creation. God was not without someone to talk to.

So, what is the Purpose of Life? Why did God make us? (Yes, I do approach this from the viewpoint of a believer.)

Tomorrow I will continue this topic.

TO BE CONTINUED