August 23, 2017 – Devotions – Your G-d Is Too Small — What is the Purpose of Life?

“A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich.” Luke 18:18-23

I do not believe that Jesus was asked this question directly, but he was asked questions like “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and “How are we to pray?” Jesus would give direct explanations for how he was teaching his disciples to live lives of faith – and we can extrapolate from his teachings how he might have answered that question. He said at one point, in answer to a question, that the person who followed two main principles in their life would be living a life of purpose according to G-d: they were to love G-d and to love their neighbors as themselves.

People for millennia have asked the question “What is the meaning of life?” Many definitions of meaning in life involves three components: the purpose in one’s existence, and significance or the pursuit and attainment of worthwhile goals and an accompanying sense of fulfillment and responsibility, and finally some enjoyment.

You need to choose a worthy purpose or a significant life goal.
You need to have sufficient understanding of who you are, what life demands of you, and how you can play a significant role in life.
You and you alone are responsible for deciding what kind of life you want to live, and what constitutes a significant and worthwhile life goal.
You will enjoy a deep sense of significance and satisfaction only when you have exercised your responsibility for self-determination and actively pursue a worthy life goal. (Wikipedia)

I believe we can whittle this down to knowing “Your purpose”, which requires knowing your “Self-differentiation”. And Jesus captured both in his defining commandments: our purpose, as created beings by G-d, is to love our creator, which first requires that we love ourselves because G-d first loved us, which propels us into the world to love others. This leads to a solid sense of differentiation, or identity – we are people of G-d; You are a child of G-d. You are a loved, child of G-d. As such, we cannot love G-d if we hate our neighbor – and if we hate G-d we cannot truly love our neighbor. A life devoid of one or both is a life that will forever seek understanding and enjoyment and responsibility – and will constantly struggle with love. (Themes come from the book “Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips)

Pastor Dave