The concept of one's purpose in life is one that has generated a lot of controversies with endless arguments because to some, it looks like there's nothing like purpose in life. They believe man's existence is basically about earning money, raising a family, and leaving the earth when due. While to others, the purpose of life is the force that drives one to live passionately on the earth all through the days of one’s life.
If you ask me which side I stand on, I would choose the second option, which is the existence of purpose in life. Purpose in one’s life exists, and it goes beyond just what we hear people say.
I'm a Christian, but I see the purpose of man as not just to glorify the Lord on earth. We are taught in the Bible that glorifying God is the core purpose of man’s life, but it doesn't mean only that. It means that our contribution, our lifestyle, and our ambitions on this earth should be under the covering of glorifying the Lord. This means that even as we go about that thing we are passionate about, it should be something that adds to humanity and glorifies God, not something that takes from humanity.
Man’s purpose is frequently centered on what someone is passionate about, and this is not money-driven. If it’s money-driven, then it’s merely what someone is ambitious about and not purpose. This is why you'll see people retire from their high-paying jobs just to pursue what gives them fulfilment.
In my school back then, the landlord of the house I stayed in was part of the mechanical engineering team of an oil company where he was earning well but had to resign from the job to become a pastor. I can count the number of times he shared that sermon with us. Anytime he found the opportunity, he would start telling us about his life and how he resigned from work to open a local church. At the end of the sermon, he would always encourage us to seek God first to know our purpose on earth so we don't waste our time doing one thing when we were meant to do another. According to him back then, he had plenty of signs to leave the job and go into religious ministry, but he refused at those times until the day his second daughter died. Although he said it wasn't God who killed the girl, those occurrences happened to pull him out of the world to live according to his purpose on earth.
Sometimes when we hear stories like this, it makes us wonder and even say it's a lie. Maybe it's a lie, maybe it’s the truth too. One thing I know is that one's purpose will always be knocking at the door until the person opens the door and allows it in. It would be so bad for someone to die and leave this earth without knowing his purpose. That’s truly sad.
Thanks!
