purposes of life

• possible purpose one - to glorify and have a personal relationship with god

  genesis 1:26, 'let us make man in our image' and 'be fruitful and multiply' may mean to reproduce and fill the earth and spread the qualities of god

  kabod (glory) is used in the OT to describe god's essential quality. isaiah links this with the purpose of life - '...everyone who is called by my name, whom i created for my glory, whom i formed and made'
• purpose one continued

  early christians saw this quality in the life, actions and teachings of jesus (matthew - glory as of the only son from the father). the purpose of christians is to represent and spread gods glory, e.g spreading god's word to others and make their own lives more god like and engage in worship

  jesus sums this up in sotm - 'let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven'
• matthew 5:16

  'let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven'
• possible purpose one - genesis 2

  genesis 2 shows a close relation between god and his creation, leading to the idea that part of the purpose of human existence is to share a personal relationship with god

  the prayer in john 'father art in me and i in thee' shows the intimacy of the father and sons relationship, providing a model for the relationship between god and christians

  christians can communicate through prayer, study the bible, follow jesus teachings and model their life off jesus to build a closer relationship with god
• possible purpose two - judgement

  roots in genesis 2. humans were created to be with god but adam and eve disobeyed him and were banished from the garden. therefore, the close relationship between humans and god was broken and pain and death entered the world. since the original purpose of creation was eternity with god, god paid for the sin of humanity by suffering on the cross (atonement). to complete this plan for reconciliation (2 corinthians - god was in christ reconciling the world to himself), humans must face judgement
• possible purpose two cont - parable of the sheeps and the goats

  jesus taught his followers they would be judged according to how they treated those less fortunate

  'sheep on his right, goats on his left'

  'for i was hungry and you gave me something to eat...'

  'whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me'

  'for i was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat...'

  'they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life'
• possible purpose two cont - judgement day

  how this might happen - judgement day

  those dead will be raised and judged, those who have treated others with compassion and justice will be welcomed into god's eternal presence, those who haven't will be forever excluded from god
• possible purpose two cont - judgement in this life

  some christians believe judgement at the end of time is factually inaccurate

  judgement day is a story designed to show an important truth about the purpose of human existence

  judgement may happen in response to christ in this life and being born of spirit and living eternal life is a quality of lie in this life
• possible purpose two cont - hick and soul making

  hick agrees w irenaeus that evil is not a flaw but an essential part of gods plan

  god made us incomplete with the power to achieve a likeness with god

  hick viewed the existence of evil as essential in developig moral perfection

  god made humans free to choose good or evil so true virtues are gained through overcoming temptations and trials

  hick believes the process of overcoming evil continues through different levels of existence until everybody reaches god's kingdom (no hell)
• possible purpose three - god's kingdom

  more holistic than the others. humans are part of the whole fabric of creation and the purpose of everything in creation is to bring to completion god's work by bringing god's kingdom on earth.

  jewish scripture takes gods kingship for granted. when jesus refers to the kingdom of god, he is linking kingship of god over all creation and the possibility there will be a time where all of created order will follow god's laws
• possible purpose three cont - the lords prayer

  'thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven'

  for some christians, this is eschatological. they believe one day, jesus will return to earth in glory and sin and death will be eliminated

  some christians see the purpose of of existence as a responsibility to work towards creating perfection of earth and be virtuous and work to bring about the conditions of a perfect heaven in their own community and world

  'the kingdom of god is at hand' in mark
• possible purpose three cont - the lords prayer cont

  jesus is referred to as the inaugurator of the kingdom as that is the first thing he says in marks gospel.

  to make this kingdom a reality, christians believe they must repent and turn away from that which is not god like and work to bring the qualties of god to fruition on earth

  these qualities are drawn from the OT, eg peace,justice and freedom from want

  these christians focus on bringing about these qualities themselves as gods stewards rather than preparing for god to intervene
• evaluating these purposes

  simply being good vs fear of punishment

  lifelong prayer and contemplation

  christian mysticism, working through study and worship

  for some doing gods will/being a good person is an end in itself and for others what they do has a focus and purpose in line with personal circumstances and abilities