The Meaning of Life
Perhaps the most important sentence in all the Westminster standards is the answer to the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
Q: What is the Chief End of Man?
A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever.
Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 1
When the secular world views life, they draw out subjective forms of meaning. We need to get a big house, find a pretty wife, have 2 or 3 kids and retire early. In a similar move, nominal religion of all sorts preaches the same message. Find happiness, comfort, and hope for a better tomorrow.
Certainly, God’s people are allowed to, and perhaps should seek all of those things. However, when we seek to ground the reason why we do anything, those nominal religious people, and the secular folk drive their lives in the directions they do for one purpose; self-fulfillment. When children ask their parents what the point of life is, vague pleasantries and platitudes that revolve around personal happiness are often the default answer from all people in all places.
This answer at the beginning of the catechism grounds us as Reformed Christians, in every era, in every kind, and points us towards one singular and fundamental truth about the nature of creation and our existence. It’s not about us.
When we take a step back from our personal desires and look at scripture, we see one clear idea all throughout. All of creation exists to glorify God. Including us.
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:36 ESV
Enjoy God By Glorifying Him
There are two parts to this answer. Certainly, we can and should enjoy God forever, but the way by which we do that is by glorifying Him.
I’m certainly not advocating for Christian Hedonism, quite the opposite actually. While some would say we glorify God by enjoying him, I would say otherwise. We enjoy God by glorifying Him.
Our joy as Christians comes from fulfilling our purpose. This is one of the many reasons unsaved men seek religious experience. They, even unconsciously, recognize their need to be in relation with God. They seek that through incorrect means, because of their depravity. Christians, by our reconciliation to God, can seek our enjoyment through fulfilling our original purpose, which is worshipping God.
Worship is not simply confined to the Lord’s Day. We worship in the words we say, the thoughts we think, and the actions we do all throughout our lives. This was God’s intended purpose. He created Adam holy, and give him tasks to do. In the original perfect state of creation, Adam and Eve were not given psalms to sing, or church services to attend, but divine mandates from our Lord.
Adam and Eve were able to glorify God in their daily lives, by submitting to the commands of God. The authors of scripture, particularly the epistles, wrote quite a bit about how we are to worship on the Lord’s Day. However, they wrote so much more about how we should be living on all the other days of the week. In our workplaces, in our homes, with our families, and with our friends.
So if that’s true, then how can we truly enjoy God, unless we glorify him? Put a different way, your relationship with your parents will be strained when you don’t obey them. It will be rough when you don’t respect them. Further than that, a bad relationship with parents impacts the rest of life. How can we seek to enjoy our relationship with our parents? We start by doing for them what they deserve; respecting them, and obeying them. In a similar capacity, how can we enjoy our relationship with God? We honor the Lord, and we obey his commands. Further than that, if we don’t, the rest of our life will be impacted. God’s love being unconditional enables us, even when we fall and sin, to glorify him and enjoy him. I have sinned, you have sinned, yet God still loves us. God still forgives us.
When we disobey God and face chastisement from our savior, it becomes harder to enjoy him. We never lose the benefits of salvation, but we can at times feel distant from our Lord. The way we remedy this is to mortify sin, to repent, and cling to him as our continual source of life. Only through the glorification of God can we enjoy him.
God’s people will enjoy his presence and glorify him for all eternity. This is assured for us. Whoever he has called to himself will never fall away, even though they sin. We will be brought into perfect, sinless communion with God on the new heavens and new earth, and enjoy him forever.