One of the great questions that people are wrestling with today is “Is there a purpose to life?” Sometimes people seem to be asking “is there a purpose to the whole of human life in general?” At other times they ask “Is there a purpose to my life specifically?” A large-scale survey of people in the UK, conducted for the ‘Talking Jesus’ report, found that 25% of people outside the church rated these as the most pressing questions they face.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, at one time very much part of the ‘New Athiest’ movement, became a Christian after finding that atheism had failed to answer the very basic question of any ideology: what is the purpose of life? That was something she came to find in the Christian faith instead.
When we go forward in evangelism, we are not only offering people eternal life, forgiveness, joy, reconcilliation with God – and all the things we traditionally associate with the gospel. We are also offering people the opportunity to be reconnected to their created purpose.
That purpose, according to John in his Gospel (Ch 1), is that we can know Christ. At the time John was writing a debate was raging about the purpose of life – whether there was one, and if it could be found. The word they used to describe this purpose was the ‘logos’. Is there a purpose? Is there a point to it all? Is there something to live for? Is there a ‘logos’? they debated.
John wrote his Gospel to tell us that there is a logos. “The Word [literal meaning of ‘logos’] became flesh and dwelt among us”, he wrote (Jn 1:14). That means that the purpose of life is not a book, philosophy, system of reasoning or something abstract, but is in fact a person: Christ. According to John the purpose of life is to know Christ. It’s why when people come to Christ they talk about finding fulfilment, because they are doing what they were designed to do and being who they were designed to be.
The Apostle Paul famously said that he “counted everything as a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ as his Lord” (Phil 3:8). That is one of our inspirations for evangelism, to say to those seeking purpose: “Here is Christ, who can redeem you from the empty way of life handed down you from your forefathers” (1Pe 1:18). He can redeem, he can renew, he can show you the purpose you were created for. Because when you find Christ you’ll find purpose.
In evangelism we are offering disconnected and dissatisfied people reconnection to the very purpose of life, ‘the logos’ who is Christ himself.
Prayer: Father God, thank you for sending Jesus into the world as the logos. I joyfully confess that knowing him is life itself. Please help me to share this glorious purpose with someone today. Amen.