God function
There has been a lot of hemming and hawing as of late, around whether or not purpose in life is synonymous with belief in God. I'm not going to rehash all that's been said. Suffice it to say, the drama reads in this order…
Let me prefix this by saying I consider all these guys friends, with the exception of Mr. Meyer, whom I have not had the privilege of meeting.
Andy lives here in Dallas, and he has been to my house. My wife and I visited Jeremy's home when we vacationed in England. Jason and I have shared meals at conferences. Matthew is my editor at Digital Web Magazine and has helped me refine the writing in my articles to a respectable level.
I appreciate that Jeremy clarified his use of the term "god botherers" as a reference to Godbit. Being from the other side of the Atlantic, some of us yanks were a bit perplexed by the colloquialism at first.
Just to clarify: I'm using the term god botherer in its generally accepted sense here in the UK as a mild, almost affectionate term. Why, some of my best friends are god botherers.
Hearing that, I am reminded of the bothersome woman in Luke 18:1-8, who repeatedly visits a judge, crying out for justice. If that's the way in which I pester God, then I'm okay with that.
😁
My Definition
I am of the opinion that someone can have purpose in this lifetime apart from God. However, as is in accordance with the doctrine of Christianity, I believe that apart from God, said purpose ends in when this life ceases. With God, the purpose is ultimately shown to be one which continues on indefinitely. Here's a simple diagram of how I understand the meaning of the word purpose:
Digging back into 8th grade math principles, let's think of God's existence (presupposing that God indeed exists) as a line, with no beginning nor ending points. Human life is a line segment, with a clear start and end point. One who adheres to Christ as Lord and Savior is a ray, with a start but no end, because this individual continues to exist with God in the life beyond.
For me, life is less about finding purpose, and more about being in a relationship with my creator. If one is truly seeking, God will find you. God is not lost. He rescues those who want to be found. To use a Matrix quote: "Then you'll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself."
Anyway, for what it's worth, those are my thoughts on the subject. This also reminds me that I had neglected to post my writings from the Exegesis of Exodus seminary class I took this summer. For connoisseurs of the Hebrew scriptures, I have added those papers to my theology page.