The purpose of life is to know God and follow His guidance, becoming the person He created you to be, and doing the good works He has ordained for you.
God fully desires to bring to fruition the dream for the “full” life (John 10:10) that He has placed deep within your heart, and that “full” life unfolds as you learn to genuinely follow Him. But what does it mean to fully follow God, and how can we make that a reality in our lives?
Our imperfections and self-serving motivations make it essential not to solely rely on our own evaluations of our circumstances. This is precisely why we need an objective source of truth to inform our plans and decisions. The Bible stands as the only fully reliable source of truth we can depend on.
Deep in your heart, you know that your life is meant to have meaning and purpose and that pursuing and achieving your life goals and ambitions should result in a profound sense of personal fulfillment. This God-given dream for the “full” life (that Jesus came to make possible – John 10:10) drives you to pursue many goals.
Our mental framework (deep-seated beliefs about how life works) directly influences how we live – whether we are aware of it or not. Without God’s influence, our interpretations of life experiences feed our mental framework in ways that often lead to faulty conclusions.
Many challenges we encounter are designed by God to redirect our focus toward Him. This allows Him to help us discover vital life truths and guide us in ways that will best enrich our lives. Our most important challenge, then, is to learn the lessons God wants to teach us. This chapter will highlight the five most essential life truths upon which our lives must be built.
We interpret and process life experiences differently based on our emotional, intellectual, and spiritual maturity, transitioning from lower to higher levels of rationality. Level 4 Thinking offers the greatest potential for spiritual growth and personal transformation.
As Christians grow in their understanding of God’s ways and strive to follow Him, they gain more and more knowledge. This can lead to confusion and frustration if we are unable to organize and synthesize what we’ve learned into a clear knowledge base. The deepest levels of learning and transformation occur when we reflect on our life experiences through the Four Essential Life Questions.
Misunderstandings about God’s nature can cause us to misinterpret life experiences and lead to many poor decisions. He is certainly unlike anything or anyone we’ve ever known. So, who is God, and how can I truly know and love Him?
