Have you ever wondered what is the purpose of life? Maybe you have searched for it in books, or conversations—that great motivating drive that will empower you to say ‘no’ to all those life-wasting habits stealing your energy and hope of becoming the person you truly want to be.
What Is the Purpose in Life According to the Bible?
The Three Bible Verses That Reveal Life’s True Purpose—And How to Live It
There are goals we all set in life or activities we pursue hoping they would motivate us to some extent to get out of bed each morning. Some, like serving a group of people or a cause, or building a family, could be perceived as more noble than others, like accumulating wealth, or searching for novelty and excitement. Very often, however, the closer we come to whatever we are after, the greater the realization that it won’t provide the expected sense of accomplishment. Fulfilment slips away more often than we wished it did, and we end up finding ourselves feeling empty, inadequate, unsure whether we are making the most of our lives and insecure about the future.
Can you relate to this? Have you ever arrived at what you hoped would bring you fulfilment, just to be surprised to discover you long for something more or something very different? And though a part of you is sceptical about where your search will take you, your curiosity does not let you give up the quest for truth.
The scale of the question: What is the purpose of life? invites us to take a look at the beginning of life on Earth and for this blog we want to assume the creationist view that the universe has a designer—God. The most ancient source supporting this worldview is the Bible, which is claimed to be an inspired, reliable source of truth, designed to serve humanity as a moral compass. So, why, according to the ancient writings of the Bible, did God create humans?
Here is the same text according to another Bible translation:
Humans have been created to do good. If this is really true, (1) why then is there so much evil and suffering? And (2) why doesn’t doing good seem to fulfil? I don’t know about you, but doing good does not come naturally to me—not when circumstances have forced me to consider sacrificing my comfort for the good of others, or when someone has done a very good job of provoking me.
So even if doing good is the purpose of life, (3) is it even possible to live out that purpose so completely, that we would actually find fulfilment and peace about our past, present and future? These are the three questions we want to elaborate on for the rest of this blog.
1. Why is there so much evil and suffering, if we were created to do good?
It is because something broke. The Bible tells us that God created people in His image, with a free will—we can choose whether to live according to His purpose, or do what we want. One of His created beings, Lucifer, decided to live as he wanted, and that spirit of rebellion spread to the human race (to learn more, click here). As a consequence, all humans today have been damaged, and are destined to die.
2. Why doesn’t doing good seem to fulfil?
It is because we often do good with the wrong motives. The truth is that without extra help in our broken condition, we cannot fulfil our purpose of doing good with the purest of motives. As a result, we don’t get to experience the lasting joy, peace and fulfilment we are after and we have been created for. Just like a car with a seriously defective engine can’t move, so too we can’t live the life we were designed to live: a life of selfless love and service, that comes with complete self-control.
3. Is it even possible to live out the purpose we have been created for?
It is good to find a purpose that could bring us fulfilment, but living it out in our life can be quite a challenge. Let’s go back to the car illustration. Once a car is broken to the point where movement doesn’t come naturally to it anymore, movement is not the answer. This is when it needs a mechanic to get it fixed, so that it can again be used to do what it was created for.
Similarly, the only one who could provide a cure to our helpless, broken condition was the Creator Himself—Jesus. He came to Earth as a human—as one of us—and took our defects and our destiny, death, on Himself, thus offering to eventually restore us back to the defect-free condition He first created us in. As God’s masterpiece, every person is invited to build a relationship with the Creator—a relationship where we surrender to One who is more loving and just, One who is wiser, and stronger than anyone else. God is the only one who can ‘repair’ us:
The verse above says that nobody can boast, because it is not what we do that saves us, but what He did, and can do in and through us. Everyone… Everyone who believes and receives God’s gift can get started on a journey of transformation with God. It does not matter what your past is—all that matters is that you want to change, you have given up on the idea of accomplishing that change alone, and believe that Jesus was who He said He was and that He can do what He promised to do for everyone who comes to Him. This, according to the Bible, is the only way to live out the purpose you were created for.
About the author
With a spark for learning and an endless curiosity about life, purpose, and the mind, Rossie enjoys exploring science and the Bible, connecting with people, and engaging in creative activities that bring joy and meaning.
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