Another Practical Guide to the Logic, Philosophy, and Thoughts of Christianity

Section 1 - Article 8

Article 8 - Purpose of Life

Many great philosophers seek the purpose of life. Few have found it. An atheistic philosopher once said, without the existence of a God, there is no meaning in life. By this, he did not concede that there is a God, but that there is simply no meaning in life. Though I am no renowned philosopher, I refuse to believe that there is no meaning in life after everything I been through. With all the unnecessary pain and suffering the world goes through, to simply say that "things just happen" is a patronizing insult to people who had been through much. It may be better to say to them, "God hates you", or "the devil loves you" or "you are paying for the crimes of your previous life" than to simply tell someone that things just happen. Even if all the above statements were wrong, it is far better than saying to someone with a tragic experience that it was just their lot in life of fate and chance.

In Rick Warren's "Purpose of Life", the purpose of life was to worship God in everyday living. So what does it mean to be worshipping and honoring God every day of life? How do I do that in everyday life?

After a bout of feverish sickness, I came to realize we are generally not meant to know our individual exact purpose of life until it ends or when God reveals so (neither Moses nor Noah knew their purpose until it was revealed to them in God's timing), but it is clear that the divine purpose of life is to accept and do all good and godly things that come your way with the very best godly effort one can, while seeking divine help and having divine providence. There should be no refusal, no hesitation, no procrastination, and no time wastage. Only then can one do all that he or she is meant to do and fulfill their purpose and destiny. That is the purpose of life. Every purpose, big or small, fulfills the big purpose. No single event is unnecessary for God's purpose.

If all the good things that come our way are performed to our best efforts with prayer, we fulfill our purpose in life. Be it studies, charity, church service, old folks, children, people in need etc. As we help others, who knows what else can be carried on from that event that may lead to greater things – to a greater purpose of the world.

These should be specific enough for each individual to fulfil their own different purpose. I may have the opportunity to save a cat; another may do good deeds by showing mercy in a battlefield; another, to help an elderly that slipped on the street; another, to clean the toilet; another to preach; another to help teach in a school; another to comfort a sad friend.

All the things work together for them that are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). That is the purpose of life.

Addendum – Meaning of Life and the Struggles of Youth

I was inspired to write this article on a plane after watching a coming of age anime - The Anthem of the Heart. Japanese anime are very gripping. Unlike what many of us are used to in the Hollywood genre, Japanese anime often end in a bittersweet way or even tragically. Yet what grips me is the way 2D anime are drawn to reflect emotions so well that as a viewer, you can relate to the characters so much that it is often possible to laugh and cry with them.

The story I watched was about the great pressures of Japanese high school kids who come from broken families and face unrequited love or crushes on their classmates. One must really empathize with teenagers. While Japan has her own culture, the plague of troubles faced in Japan is not unique. Thinking back to my own teenage hood half my life ago, it surely was not that dramatic, but nonetheless a trying time.

Let us consider this. In many developed nations, it is a period of trials and testing implemented by the education system. There was no other period of time, other than my twenties, when life was not emotionally taxing. In many countries, teenage-hood is when elementary or primary school ends, and the transition to high school or secondary school occurs, and shortly after, to polytechnic, college or university. Where I am, there is also national service where males are conscripted into. The numerous transitions are very much dependent on academic performance, and where I was, it could not be more pronounced. So high was the pressure that I know many of my classmates had white hair, at the age of 14, 15 or so. Nonetheless, I need not mention that it is the age of puberty, where one not only has to cope with bodily changes, becoming clumsy as if given new body parts, and perhaps most trying of all, to deal with emerging new emotions and making the transition of mindset change from child to adult.