Purpose of life VS method & means
It's common for Christians to state that one's purpose in life is to "love/glorify God;"*
or something to that general affect.
I believe that is inaccurate.
If one's purported purpose is to 'love God' then this turns 'love' into objective; and one that is frequently evaluated by feeling, and rationalized by logic, in light of faulted paradigms of relative righteousness (see hypocrisy).
All objectives require methods.
This takes us away from grace and toward legalism ergo oft hypocrisy.
Which I believe accounts for much of the problems present in the church at large today.
Jesus Christ stated that
"I have come that they may have life, and that they would live it more abundantly."
I take that as pretty obvious implication of our actual purpose in life:
Live life; and more abundantly.
The method to living a truly abundant life is to 'love God' - verb - regardless.
This comes from a paradigm of abundance being an internal - rather than external - experience:
Abundance in life isn't having a tons of money and yachts and friends and the perfect family...
Abundance in life is experiencing the full richness of truth/light: God.
The means/capacity to love(ing) God is [submission, via Christ] - intimacy - which occurs through worship.
*In fact it was just preached to me this morning.
or something to that general affect.
I believe that is inaccurate.
If one's purported purpose is to 'love God' then this turns 'love' into objective; and one that is frequently evaluated by feeling, and rationalized by logic, in light of faulted paradigms of relative righteousness (see hypocrisy).
All objectives require methods.
This takes us away from grace and toward legalism ergo oft hypocrisy.
Which I believe accounts for much of the problems present in the church at large today.
Jesus Christ stated that
"I have come that they may have life, and that they would live it more abundantly."
I take that as pretty obvious implication of our actual purpose in life:
Live life; and more abundantly.
The method to living a truly abundant life is to 'love God' - verb - regardless.
This comes from a paradigm of abundance being an internal - rather than external - experience:
Abundance in life isn't having a tons of money and yachts and friends and the perfect family...
Abundance in life is experiencing the full richness of truth/light: God.
The means/capacity to love(ing) God is [submission, via Christ] - intimacy - which occurs through worship.
*In fact it was just preached to me this morning.