Introduction
_001.jpg) ‘What is the meaning and purpose of life?’ This is,
perhaps, the most important question that has ever been asked. Throughout the
ages, philosophers have considered it to be the most fundamental question. Scientists,
historians, philosophers, writers, psychologists and the common man all wrestle
with the question at some point in their lives.
Is Reason a Sufficient Guide?
‘Why do we eat?’ ‘Why do we sleep?’ ‘Why do we work?’ The
answers we would get to these questions would be similar. ‘I eat to live.’ ‘I
sleep to rest.’ ‘I work to support myself and my family.’ But when it comes
to what the purpose of life is, people are confused. We see their confusion by
the type of answers we receive. Youths may say, “I live for booze and bikinis.”
The middle aged professional might say, “I live to save enough for a
comfortable retirement.” The old man would probably say, “I’ve been asking why
I’m here most of my life. If there’s a purpose, I don’t care anymore.” And
perhaps the most common answer will be, “I really don’t know!”
How, then, do you discover the purpose of life? We
basically have two options. The first is to let ‘human reason’ - the
celebrated achievement of the Enlightenment - guide us. After all, the Enlightenment
gave us modern science based on careful observation of the natural world. But
have post-Enlightenment philosophers figured it out? Camus described life as “absurd”;
Sartre spoke of “anguish, abandonment and despair.” To these Existentialists,
life has no meaning. Darwinians thought the meaning of life was to reproduce.
Will Durant, capturing the predicament of postmodern man, wrote, “Faith and
hope disappear; doubt and despair are the order of the day… it is not our homes
and our treasuries that are empty, it is our ‘hearts’.” When it comes to
meaning of life, even the wisest philosophers are just guessing. Will Durant,
the most noted philosopher of the last century, and Dr. Hugh Moorhead, a
philosophy professor at Northeastern Illinois University, both wrote separate
books titled ‘The Meaning of Life.’ They wrote to
the best-known philosophers, scientists, writers, politicians, and
intellectuals of their time in the world, asking them, “What is the meaning of
life?” Then they published their responses. Some offered their best guesses,
some admitted that they just made up a purpose for life, and others were honest
enough to say they were clueless. In fact, a number of famous intellectuals
asked the authors to write back and tell them if the purpose of life was
discovered!
Let the Heavens “Speak”
If the philosopher has no definitive answer, perhaps the
answer can be found within the heart and mind that we ourselves possess. Have
you ever looked at the open sky on a clear night? You will see an incalculable
number of stars. Look through a telescope and you will see gigantic spiral
galaxies, beautiful nebula where new stars are being formed, the remnants of
ancient supernova explosion created in a star’s final death throes, the
magnificent rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter. Is it possible not to be
moved by the sight of these countless stars in the night sky shining like
diamond dust on a bed of black velvet? Multitudes of stars beyond stars,
stretching back; becoming so dense that they appear to merge into delicate
wisps of sparkling mist. The grandeur humbles us, thrills us, inspires a
craving for investigation, and calls for our contemplation. How did it come
into being? How are we related to it, and what is our place in it? Can we hear
the heavens “speak” to us?
“In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the
alternation of the night and the day, there are surely signs for all who are
endowed with insight, who remember God when they stand, and when they sit, and
when they lie down to sleep, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the
earth: “O our Lord, You have not created this without meaning and purpose. Limitless
art You in Your glory…” (Quran 3:190-191)
When we read a book, we accept that an author exists. When
we see a house, we accept that a builder exists. Both of these things were
made with a purpose by those who made them. The design, order, and complexity
of the universe as well as the world around us are evidence of the existence of
a supreme intelligence, a perfect designer. All the heavenly bodies are
controlled by precise laws of physics. Can there be laws without a lawmaker? Rocket
scientist Dr. von Braun said: “The natural laws of the universe are so precise
that we have no difficulty building a spaceship to fly to the moon and can time
the flight with the precision of a fraction of a second. These laws must have
been set by somebody.” Paul Davies, a professor of physics, concludes that man’s
existence is not a mere quirk of fate. He states: “We are truly meant to be
here.” And he says regarding the universe: “Through my scientific work, I have
come to believe more and more strongly that the physical universe is put
together with an ingenuity so astonishing that I cannot accept it merely as a
brute fact. There must, it seems to me, be a deeper level of explanation.” The
universe, the earth, and living things on the earth all give silent testimony
to an intelligent, powerful Creator.
_002.jpg)
Figure 2 Central region of the Trifid Nebula taken by the
Gemini Telescope on Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, June 5, 2002. Located
in the constellation of Sagittarius, the beautiful nebula is a
much-photographed, dynamic cloud of gas and dust where stars are being born. One
of the massive stars at the nebula’s center was born approximately 100,000
years ago. The nebula’s distance from the Solar System is generally agreed to
be somewhere between 2,200 to 9,000 light years away.
Image courtesy of Gemini Observatory Image/GMOS
Commissioning Team.
If we were made by a Creator, then surely that Creator must
have had a reason, a purpose, in creating us. Thus, it is important that seek to
know God’s purpose for our existence. After coming to the realization of this
purpose, we can choose whether we want to live in harmony with it. But is it
possible to know what is expected from us left to our own devices without any communication
from the Creator? It is natural that God Himself would inform us of this
purpose, especially if we are expected to fulfill it..
Alternative to Speculation: Ask God
This brings us to the second option: the alternative to
speculation about the meaning and purpose of life is revelation. The easiest
way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the inventor. To
discover the purpose of your life, ask God.
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