(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 14, 2008 )
The Purpose Of Life Is To Please God

By Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director - LoveAllPeople.org

Are you looking for a clear purpose in life? Do you wonder, "Why are we here?" Do you think life is meaningless?

If so, then this is what you are looking for:


"The purpose of life is to please God."



How do we know this? Because the Bible tells us. Our purpose is the same as the purpose of the whole universe: to please God.

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Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:
for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are
and were created. (Revelation 4:11 KJV)
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"Yes, but maybe it's impossible to please Him," you might say. Wrong. He's not that hard to please.

"For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people:"
(Psalms 149:4a KJV)


So what are some of the things we can do to please him? The Bible is full of things that please Him and things which displease Him. Read the Bible and see what He likes and what He doesn't like. Then give Him what He likes and avoid giving Him what He doesn't like.

But the most important thing is love: He wants us to love other people the same as we love ourselves.

The Bible states it very clearly, so there can be no possible misunderstanding:


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For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14 RSV)
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And who is your neighbor? Everyone is your neighbor. This is shown in the Parable Of The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Luke+10%3A25-37&btnG=Search

But what about love for God? Doesn't that come first? Yes, but God accepts our love for others as if it were love for Himself. So when we love others, we are loving Him at the same time. This is shown in the Parable Of The Sheep And The Goats (Matthew 25:31-46). http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Matthew+25%3A31-46&btnG=Google+Search

But what about The Ten Commandments? Aren't we supposed to obey them? Yes, but The Ten Commandments are only an approximation of what God wants from us. The Pharisees obeyed all of the Ten Commandments, yet God was very displeased with them because they did not have love. The exact thing God wants from us is that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Everything else is subordinate to this.

But what about holiness? Aren't we supposed to avoid improper sex, etc. and be pure and chaste? Aren't we supposed to deny our physical selves in order to strengthen our spiritual selves? Yes, but our feeble attempts at being holy do not even come close to God's high standards. To Him, they are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). But if we have love for others, God will overlook a multitude of our sins (1 Peter 4:8). And if we forgive others of their offenses against us, He will forgive us of our offenses against Him (Matthew 5:14-15). Love makes everything holy, since God is love (1 John 4:8, 4:16).

So all of God's laws boil down to this one command: "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." If you truly do this one thing only, it is enough. It then doesn't matter if you fall short on some of the dozens of others. But if you do not do this, all of the others together are not enough. This is the big one, more important than all the others combined.


"Love For Others Fulfills The Law"


Galatians 5:14 (RSV)
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."

Romans 13:8 (RSV)
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves
his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:9 (RSV)
The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not
kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other
commandment, are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."

Romans 13:10 (RSV)
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling
of the law.

James 2:8 (RSV)
If you really fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well.

Proverbs 10:12 (RSV)
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

1 Peter 4:8 (RSV)
Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love
covers a multitude of sins.
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Blessings to you in Jesus Christ our Lord.


Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director - LoveAllPeople.org


http://LoveAllPeople.org

HTML version of this page with more active links is located at =>
http://www.internetchurchofchrist.org/pearl-purpose.html

Contact Information:
LoveAllPeople.org
Rev. Bill McGinnis
Tel: 7037686710
Email us


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