Life as we all know it can be summarized into easy stages. You’re born, you study for 20 years of your life, you work another 10, 20 or 30 years and marry and settle down then retire – then die. Isn’t this what it all boils down to? So in all these stages, what, can you say, is the purpose of life?
Every human being fears death
Living your life is no easy task
Living life is not something to be taken lightly. And we all know it. Each and every human being fears death, pain, sickness, and everything else related to the depreciation of life. “Life is a gift” is what we say. And it is our most precious possession. Like any other gift and possession, we have to figure out what it’s purpose is and what we ought to do with it.
We aren’t the first ones
Obviously, we are not the first human beings who have ever lived on this planet called Earth. Millions, or even billions of people have come and gone and they have discovered and rediscovered life. They have gone through the most difficult and the most joyful times that a human being can ever experience. What I want to point out is, we are not the first ones who are trying to figure out this thing called ‘life’.
When they thought they’ve had it figured all out
“Life is meaningless”
“Success is empty”
“There’s something missing”
Ever heard these before? I know I did. They came from the most successful people of this generation. They tiringly echo the thoughts of the most powerful and successful man who ever ruled Israel – King Solomon.
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.
– Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
So you see, these things that the ‘successful’ and ‘powerful’ people experience in our time and generation is nothing new. It is a perplexing emotion created by the thoughts running through our mind – conjured by our experience in success. Why is it that only the successful people feel this most intensely? Because I believe that it is when you have exhausted that last pleasure that you find life to be meaningless. And only so few people in our world have the opportunity to exhaust every pleasure known to man.
The only time our life will have a purpose worth living is when what we’re living for is bigger than life. Wanna know what it is? I bet you do. Here it is:
God
What?! A three-letter-word is the purpose to life?!
Yes
Got a better answer? Every successful man has tried it all – everything under the sun. Everything in life.
Only that three letter word is bigger than life. Only that three letter word promises ETERNAL satisfaction and REAL meaning. Our purpose is to glorify God with the life we’re living. After all, in the end – it’s the only thing that matters.
Don’t believe me?
Then I bid you success. And when you get to the top and have exhausted all pleasures in life, remember me and my words. Maybe then you would give God a chance.