Purpose "of" life

Life either exists because it was created or by random chance. If by chance, then there is no purpose to life. If by creation, then the intention of the creator becomes, by definition, our purpose for living. One reason that the theory of evolution is so widely entertained is that it frees us from having to be responsible to a creator and being subject to his purpose. The idea that there is no creator not only frees us from having to consider His purpose, it allows us to select our own purpose and even impose it on others. In a way, we can start to see ourselves as "gods".

Purpose "in" life

Most people do not much care if there is a God or if we were created. For them there is no such thing as a purpose of life. They operate with a purpose "in" life to live out their existences seeking to gain as much comfort and avoid as much discomfort as they can. The only pleasure that is denied is the pleasure whose risk, effort, or other cost is not seen as worth the effort. We all start life as infants completely consumed with self. It is sad that most people end their lives with only more complicated versions of the same "purpose" they started with.

The "yardstick" of life

One way to measure life is to gauge how pleasant or uncomfortable life is. If we think of suffering as 1" on a yardstick and happiness as 36", we could get an indication of how we are doing in life. Many people think that when they experience fun, thrills, or other pleasurable sensations that they have reached the upper limit of the yardstick. These pleasant feelings are a type of false happiness. They exist around the 18" range and begin to convert into boredom the more they are encountered. Most people hover around this level for their whole lives.

The barrier of boredom

Almost everyone wants to be happy. Most settle for being comfortable. Some think that if they gain money, fame, power, or position that they will have gained the key to happiness. These people often find that not only do they not have happiness, they also have lost out on much comfort. Some people attempt greater and more frequent indulgences of pleasure in order to achieve "happiness". They often find that not only do they lose the ability to enjoy their pleasure through habituation and desensitization, they also drift closer to those things that bring pain and suffering. In a way, boredom represents the highest attainment for the self focused life.

Selfishness

Boredom is an indicator that the self-focused life is running low on diversions and stimulations. In the past only emperors and kings had the resources to sustain unrestrained self-indulgence. We live in a culture unique in history. By exploiting diminishing resources and extremely complicated debt, we have been able to sustain the largest number of people ever following a path of self-delusion and indulgence once reserved only for nobility. There was a politician who once promised, "Every man a king". He may not have known how accurate his promise was.

Natural limits

It was once said, "The cure for the disease of adolescence is parenthood". The implication was that marriage and parenthood often expose a person to a situation where selfishness cannot continue unchecked. In fact it has been through the setting aside of selfishness that many husbands, wives, and parents have been able to get past boredom to get a glimpse of real happiness. It is sad that at our point in history we have the chemical technology in birth control and the legal technology in no-fault divorce to be able to by-pass some of the natural limits on selfishness

Supernatural limits

The Christian has available to him the power of God to change his heart. This is remarkable in that we do not have to hope for a trickle of happiness. We can be flooded with happiness. This is a result of the change that is possible with a complete surrender of ourselves to Jesus.  

Romans 12:1-2 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God. Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him. 

2Corinthians 5:15 And Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us. 

Philippians 3:7-8 But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 

Romans 15:13 I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope. 

Romans 14:17 God's kingdom isn't about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All this comes from the Holy Spirit. 

Matthew 25:23 "Wonderful!" his master replied. "You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness!" 

True happiness

Happiness is not something to be gained, it is a result of love. True love is selflessness. Jesus is our perfect example of love. A wife may sacrifice herself for her husband, a father may sacrifice himself for his son, But Jesus willingly laid down His life and took on the sin of the whole world so that we could be joined with Him and receive forgiveness for our sins.

Evolution presents us with a model of life that shows a heartless, cold, and merciless world that only rewards those who are able to get as much as they can from others. Creation presents us with a model of life that shows a loving God who sent His own Son to die so that some could be rescued from a selfish grasping world.

The purpose of life is found in the loving arms of a creator who patiently waits for us to answer His call.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that we were created for.