Seven years ago today, I found the purpose of life.
Not just MY life, but LIFE ITSELF.
Being an analytical person, I’ve always asked, “why?”
I started asking the BIG questions when I was around
sixteen.
Here’s a little glimpse of where my mind was back then:
1.
If I
was born in India, would I still be Catholic?
I grew up Catholic all my life;
I kneeled, sat, stood and prayed all throughout my childhood. I went to Catholic
elementary school, Catholic high school, and never missed a Sunday with my
parents and sister growing up. I was very disillusioned with Catholicism; why
was the bible rarely emphasized? It seems as though my catholic faith was more
of a cultural upbringing than a personal belief. If I was born in India, I
probably wouldn’t be catholic; I probably would be Muslim or Hindi. Why?
Because that is the culture and the context I would be raised in. But does not
God transcend culture? Is He not greater than culture?
2.
There
are so many religions! Which one is the “right one?”
There was a meme that said, “I’m
going to hell in every religion.” For the longest time, I was against
“organized religion.” God gave us a brain; why would we need to fit ourselves
in one of these pre-molded organizations? Doesn't this restrict us? Doesn’t
this hinder our growth as human beings, if we are simply to “do this and don’t
do that, say this and don’t say that, be this and don’t be that?” I’m an
independent thinker! I can think on my own, thank you very much! Jesse Ventura
said “Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need
strength in numbers.” Bono of U2 said, “Religion is what is left when the
Spirit has left the room.” So many people kill in the name of their religion.
It’s dangerous! Why would I want to be a part of that? You can have religion.
I’m fine without it. I would rather live life to the fullest, respect all
people, and treat others the way I want to be treated. That makes more sense to
me. Simple.
3.
What
if I study all the religions, and live by the thread that weaves them all?
The Golden Rule: Do unto others
the way you would have do unto you. Love people. Treat all people with dignity
and respect. Karma: what goes around comes around. You reap what you sow.
4.
Doesn’t
“organized religion” divide us more than unite us?
Sunday is the most divided day
of the week. Everyone across the globe gathers to their own places of worship,
whether it be a church, synagogue, temple, or tv set. I’d rather spend my
Sunday volunteering at a soup kitchen or something. Why sit and listen to
someone preach to me for an hour while I could use that hour actually applying
what is preached?
5.
How
valid is the Bible? Isn’t it just a bunch of stories written by man?
We’ve all played the game of
“telephone” – take a bunch of people in a room, whisper a message to one
person, have that person whisper to the next person, and voila! You went from
“Mary had a little lamb,” to “The cow jumped over the moon.” - a completely
different story, with a completely different subject and predicate. This brings
up the question, “Did Jesus really exist?”
6.
If God
is love, and He is our Father in heaven who loves us, why would He send His
children to hell?
Is hell even real? Is heaven
real for that matter? I finally got the answer to this question after many
years: Hell is not meant for you. It’s meant for Satan. The problem is, so many
of us choose to listen to the devil instead of Jesus that we send ourselves
there, not God.
7.
Is
there such thing as true humility?
As human beings, we are selfish
by nature. Don’t believe me? When you look at a photo with you in a group, who
do you look for first? You, or the group? Exactly. However altruistic we try to
be, our nature is always to look out for numero uno. With that being said, is
it possible to be truly selfless? Could it be that humility is just another
form of pride?
8.
Did
Jesus really exist? Who was He? What was His mission?
I read somewhere that there was
more proof of Abraham Lincoln’s existence than Jesus’. Interesting.
9.
What
is love?
Baby, don’t hurt me.. no more.
Agape. Philia. Eros.
10.
What
is the purpose of life?
Existentialism? Nihilism? New Age?
“To become the next Greatest Version of the Grandest Vision of Who I Really Am”
Neale Donald Walsh “You Only Live Once” Drake “You are what you repeatedly do.” Aristotle “Love
your life” “Life is not about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself”
Coffee Mug “Free yourself from yourself” Nick H “Salvation lies within.”
Shawshank Redemption “You are in control of your destiny” “Trust in yourself”
“Self Reliance” Emerson Leave your legacy. Make a dent on this earth.
These sayings sound nice, but they
are all driven by the self, which is driven by ego. Ego is selfish by nature,
so how could one truly love each other if we are doing it for our own personal
gain?
I spent a lot of time in my adolescent years seeking the
answers to these questions. I would talk to “religious people,” but a lot of
these people just followed their religion blindly and/or didn’t have the
answers themselves. To me, I didn’t understand how you can truly believe what
you believe unless you really ask “why?”
Which leads me to my answer.
I found the answer in a book entitled The Purpose Driven
Life by Rick Warren. On September 25th, 2005 I read these words:
It’s not about you.
The purpose of your life is far greater than
your own personal fulfillment, your peace of
mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater
than your family, your career, or even your
wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to
know why you were placed on this planet, you
must begin with God. You were born by his
purpose and for his purpose.
The search for the purpose of life has puzzled
people for thousands of years. That’s because
we typically begin at the wrong starting point—
ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like,
“What do I want to be? What should I do with
my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my
dreams for my future?”
But focusing on ourselves will never reveal
our life’s purpose. The Bible says, “It is God
who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone’s
life is in his power.”1
“It’s
not about you,” was the first four words in the first chapter. “The purpose of
my life is not about me? How does that make any sense?” For you to know the
purpose of your life, you can’t start with yourself, you have to start with
God.” Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the
plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “Plans not to hurt or harm you, but to
give you a hope and a future.” God has a plan for me?? It’s in the Bible??
I never heard that before! That is such a relief, because before that, I thought I had
to figure out on own! Needless to say, that first paragraph captured my
attention, and for the past seven years I’ve been able to live my life with
extreme confidence, finally knowing the answer to these ten questions I have asked
since I was sixteen. This is such a weighty topic, and one blog posting does
not thoroughly illustrate my point of view in depth, so I may have to revisit
this topic again in the future. In the meantime, please think deeply on this
posting, as it has been the result of fourteen years of asking, seeking, and
knocking. Meditate on it, and be blessed!
