What’s the Point of Life?

Have you ever wondered, “Why on earth am I here?” “What is my life for?” “What is the point of living?”

If you have, i can guarantee you are not alone. I have frequently asked this question myself.

And occasionally, i can get overwhelmed by this question because my focus gets displaced. Marriage, career, further education (and even church involvement) get in the way of what is most important.

And a quote from William Barclay on my calendar yesterday brought this back to my attention:

I said above that my focus often gets displaced. I often begin to think: “The reason why i was born is to get married, or start my career, or further my education.”

And if you’re honest with yourself, you think this way too (especially if you’re in the 16-26 age group).

But the Bible states very clearly why we were born. Paul writes, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins by asking the question, “What is the chief end of man?” and the answer follows:

“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.”
(Westminster Larger and Smaller Catechisms, WORDsearch CROSS e-book.)

In other words, human beings were created to bring God glory. For the believer, this means living life in such a way that doesn’t cast doubt upon His character, doesn’t strive to bring undue attention to oneself, and–instead–actively seeks to make Christ known to the ends of the earth.

This is popularly referred to as the Reformation doctrine of Soli Deo Gloria — Latin for
“to God alone be the glory.”

You probably recognize those three Latin words from the end of each of my posts. This is because more than i desire people to read what i write, i desire what i write to be biblically accurate and to point all the praise and glory to God. You can leave a comment on a post if i cease to do this, or even if you just want to encourage me in this quest.

But back to the William Barclay quote, the day we decide to start living life intentionally for God’s glory is the greatest day of our lives. This is what we were created to do. All the other things–career, marriage, education–can definitely aid in our quest to give God the maximum amount of glory, but by themselves they will never answer the question: “Why am I alive?”

The answer to that question is found solely in this fact: we are called to bring glory to God.

Soli Deo Gloria