As I’m ruminating on this topic of “What is my Purpose for living,” prompted by my stage in life, I’m reminded of Stages of Life from Aesop’s Fables.
The Man, the Horse, the Ox, and the Dog
"ne winter's day, during a severe storm, a horse, an ox, and a dog came and begged for shelter in the house of a man. He readily admitted them, and, as they were cold and wet, he lit a fire for their comfort; and he put oats before the horse, and hay before the ox, while he fed the dog with the remains of his own dinner.
"When the storm abated, and they were about to depart, they determined to show their gratitude in the following way. They divided the life of man among them, and each endowed one part of it with the qualities which were peculiarly his own. The horse took youth, and hence young men are high mettled and impatient of restraint; the ox took middle age, and accordingly men in middle life are steady and hard working; while the dog took old age, which is the reason why old men are so often peevish and ill tempered, and, like dogs, attached chiefly to those who look to their comfort, while they are disposed to snap at those who are unfamiliar or distasteful to them.
I trust that my pursuit of seeking my purpose for living will help prevent my being “like a dog.”
Continuing our exploration of the meaning or purpose of life let’s glance at Judaism which has at it’s central core the worshiping of a single, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and governs it. In the Judaic world view, the meaning of life is to serve the one true God and to prepare for the world to come.
Then to Christianity, with its roots in Judaism, shares much of the latter faith's ontology, (the systematic study of one’s being) but whose central beliefs derive from the teachings of Jesus Christ, as presented in the New Testament.
For the follower of Jesus Christ, the Westminster Shorter Catechism addresses the purpose of man by asking the question: “What is the chief end of Man? That is, what is Man's main purpose?. The answer is: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever. God requires one to obey the revealed moral law saying: love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and your neighbour as ourselves.The Baltimore Catechism answers the question "Why did God make you?" by saying "God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven."
What is the chief purpose of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. This, in my opinion, is getting to the foundation of our quest for knowing man’s purpose.
What does it mean to glorify God? We'll check that out tomorrow.
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