What Is Life About?

The Bible provides answers to what life is about.  Life is not about money, fame or prestige as you can see by the Hollywood divorce rate, NFL player suicide rate and while collar crime record by millionaire CEOs.  These people had everything, yet weren’t fulfilled.  They still had a God-shaped void in their heart.

Spend some time considering how short life is, what life is about and how you can fulfill your purpose based on the Bible verses below.

Brevity of life

  • Psalm 39:4-6 – “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
  • Psalm 90:9-12 – For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
  • Psalm 144:4 – Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
  • James 4:13-17 – Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Purpose of Life: Glorifying God

  • 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 10:31 – Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body….. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
  • Romans 11:36 – For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.  Amen
  • Revelation 4:11 – Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

Mission of Life: Sacrifice and obedience through faith to glorify God

  • Trust: Salvation is a gift that comes by faith in Jesus completed work rather than our own effort to make our ‘goodness’ outweigh our ‘badness’ (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans, John 3:16)
  • Acknowledge: Acknowledge Jesus before others (Matthew 10:32-33).  If we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us (Mark 8:38-39)
  • Obey in faith: Whomever does will of God is His family (Matthew 12:50, Luke 8:21).  If you love Him, keep His commandments (John 14:15, 21-24).  We are His disciples if we continue in the word (John 8:32).  If we keep the word, will not see spiritual death (John 8:51).  Only those who seek to do the will of God (through faith) will go to heaven; not merely those who know about Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23).  Obedience through works show that our faith is real (James 2:14-26)
  • Sacrifice: Seek life selfishly results in unhappiness and the loss of our life; sacrificially losing our life for the sake of Jesus and others is the true way to godly happiness (Luke 17:33, John 12:24-25).  Deny yourself and take up cross daily to follow Jesus (Luke 9:23-24).  Least is greatest (Luke 9:48)
  • Not easy an easy path: Jesus teaches that life will not be easy and following Him will make it more difficult.  He acknowledge that the narrow way is difficult and few follow it (Matthew 7:13-14)
  • Endure: He who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22, 24:14)
  • Rewards deferred: We should not expect praise for doing what God commands.  We are only doing our duty (Luke 17:7-10)
  • Rewards received: He who is faithful in much will be given much from God in the next life (Matthew 25:23). Those who have sacrificed for Jesus will be receive 100x in the life to come where the last will be first (Mark 10:29-31)

If the Bible’s answers are new to you and you want to better understand what Christianity is about read verses that summarize the Gospel and the overview of this site.  To go deeper, read one of the first four books on the new Christian page.