Have you ever wondered why you are here?... how you got here?... and what the purpose of life really is?
Well, most of us have done this at least at one point or another in our lifetimes, because most of us know that this question and how we answer it in our own way ultimately depicts what our lives look like.
All of us have been put here in the same way as everyone else, and we all have been called to do the same thing as one another, but yet in unique ways.
What do I mean by this? Well, thats what I'm about to tell you right now, so buckle up! :)
This is what The Catholic Faith teaches about: 'Why we are given life on Earth.'
1st Reason - Because God loves us & freely chose to make a creature (humans) in his likeness!
God wanted to give us the gift of life because he wanted to give it for his own pleasure out of love for us, and to give it to us as a free gift to live our lives with him and others. Creation and life in the physical and spiritual sense is beyond beautiful and so special as most of us can all agree, but we also know life can be testing at times. As humans, we learn from The Holy Bible and The Catechism of the Catholic Church that we are made in God's image and likeness, and that we are the only creature on Earth made to know and love God unlike all other creatures. We are the only one's that can do this, and display his many forms of divine nature in a physical and spiritual sense. How incredible!
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." - The Holy Bible (Genesis 1:26)
"Through his artistic creativity, man appears more than ever in the image of God." - Saint Pope John Paul II.
"Of all visible creatures only man is "able to know and love his creator". "He is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake", and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life." - Catechism Of The Catholic Church.
2nd Reason - God Gave Us Life So We Could Know Him, Love Him & Serve Him!
You think life is all about getting rich? Do you think life is all about having many possessions? Do you think life is all about becoming famous and loved by the whole world so you can be idolised? Do you think life is all about putting what you think is best for you first according to your own human thinking? Do you think life is all about doing whatever the mainstream society around us says is good or 'living'.
Well guess what, you are wrongly mistaken. There is only one real calling we have and it is very simple. It is to come to know, to come to love and to come to serve our creator in all that we do. That's it!
Now, yes this seems very simple, but actually is more difficult than it sounds. A big part of that reason is because many in the world around us live according to their own laws and beliefs which creates a ton of confusion for us for starters. Secondly, the other fact in how it can be difficult to do this is because living lawlessly is extremely easy and so many of us can get caught up being tempted by other bad examples of people around us! The other reason it can be a challenge and perhaps the greatest reason is because there is in fact a Devil out there that exists and he wants nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy the good God has given us in life!
The key ways we can come to know, love and serve our God is by:
1. Having a genuine relationship with him through his son Jesus Christ through prayer and other means. 2. Partaking in the sacraments of his church, The Catholic Church.
3. Learn from Catholic Church books such as The Holy Bible, The Catechism of The Catholic Church, books from the lives of the saints, and more!
4. By obeying the ten commandments, and finally striving to live like Jesus as much as we can!
"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" - The Holy Bible (1 John 5:3-5).
“My command after I am gone is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” - Jesus Christ, From The Holy Bible (John 15:12-13).
3rd Reason - God gave us life to test our love for him through the journey of life's and in all its ups and downs.
God deliberately allows us to experience the fall of sin in our lives and its affects it has on us, so that we can eventually see that life is only lived when we love him. God tests us in these ways in our earthly life and also in other ways out of our control.
With this, he never allows us to bear anything that he knows we can't handle, so let that give you hope and encouragement. God never had any initial intent of letting us be gripped by the devastating affects of sin and its sorrows in this life or in eternity, but ever since the time of Adam and Eve (the first humans) God allowed a curse to be put over humanity where we now as punishment have the reality of sin around us. For the sake of our faith and our souls being tested, God allows certain sufferings, whether it be with struggling with sin, dealing with life traumas and hardships or for the sake of suffering for righteousness sake, if we remain faithful to God through suffering we will be saved and one day it will all be gone like the wind! Ask God for strength through life and he will help you in supernatural ways!
"The devil tempts that he may ruin; God tests that he may crown". - St Ambrose, Bishop & Saint Of The Catholic Church.
"For those that come to me, I will give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” - Jesus Christ, The Holy Bible (John 10:28-30).
"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow me."- Jesus Christ, The Holy Bible (Luke 9:23).
Well that brings us to the conclusion of this blog! I hope these key points in Catholic teaching were found to be beneficial for you today in one way or another, and hopefully if you're an unbeliever, agnostic, or from any other belief system, I hope you found this information to be something you were needing right now, where maybe it was that first piece of the puzzle you were needing in you faith walk or pursuits for truth...especially if you are trying to discover if God exists!
Please go check out other components of our online ministry on our social medias, youtube channel and our other blogs here on our website to support us in whatever way you can!
God Love, Bless and Keep You.
- Benjamin, from Light Of The World Ministries. (Creator, author & founder of 'Light Of The World Ministries')
Keating, K. (2022, January 15).
References:
-Genesis 1:26 (NIV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%28Genesis+1%3A26%29&version=NIV
- Hince, B. (2018, October 16). 8 Things St. John Paul II Wanted All Artists to Know. Catholic-Link. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://catholic-link.org/8-quotes-pope-saint-john-paul-letter-artists/
- Keating, K. (2022, January 15). Philip, Nathanael, & Matthew (Exploring The Chosen Season 2 Episode 2 with Youth). The Bible Artist. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.thebibleartist.com/post/philip-nathanael-matthew-exploring-the-chosen-episode-2-season-2-with-youth
- James 1:17 (NIV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A17&version=NIV
-Saint Francis de Sales Quote. (n.d.). A-Z Quotes. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1384420
- 1 John 5:3–5 (NIV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+5%3A3-5&version=NIV
- John 15:12–13 (NIV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15%3A12-13&version=NIV
- Ambrose Quote. (n.d.). A-Z Quotes. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1393692
- John 10:28–30 (NIV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10%3A28-30&version=NIV
- Luke 9:23 (NIV).(n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10%3A28-30&version=NIV
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