The Issues

• The question of meaning deals with freewill, responsibility, values & morals.
• It focuses on these issues in the present.
• The question of history deals with the same issues only in the past.
• Have I been free to choose or am I a product of my environment?
• The question of purpose focuses on what is meaningful in our future.
• In other words, why are we here?
• In the world system, anything goes.
• Examples include fatalism, hedonism, & transcendental states of mind.
• Figure: "Major Worldviews of Our Day."

• Purpose in life finds its roots in that we are made in God's image (Gen 1:26-27).
• We are made to reflect God's image & glorify Him in all that we do (1 Cor 10:31).
• From the beginning, this has been manifested in three relationships.
• We were made to have relationships with God, humanity & nature (Gen 1:28).
• Figure: "Reflecting God's Image in Three Relationships."

• From the beginning, we were designed for a relationship with God (Gen 1:28).
• Our relationship with God is like Jesus' relationship with the Father (Jn 17:21).
• Like Jesus & the Father, we are to have a relationship of faith, obedience & love.
• Our relationship with God is to ultimately bring glory to Him (1 Cor 10:31).
• In Chapter 18 we will explore crossing the bridge into a relationship with God.

• From the beginning, we were designed for relationships with people (Gen 1:28).
• Relationships with others are like Jesus' relationship with the Father (Jn 17:22).
• Like Jesus & the Father, we are to have a relationship of trust, leadership & love.
• Figure: "Three Stages of Leadership."
• Figure: "The Polarization of Authority."
• Figure: "Leadership & Love in God & Humanity."
• See also: "Authority and Leadership, A Topical Study from the Foundations Web Site."
• Relationships with others are also like God's relationship with people (Jn 17:22).
• As it is with God, our relationships should reflect faithfulness, justice & mercy.
• Figure: "Faithfulness, Justice & Mercy in God & Humanity."
• Our relationships with others are to ultimately bring glory to God (1 Cor 10:31).

• From the beginning, we were designed for a relationship with nature (Gen 1:28).
• Our relationship with nature is like God's relationship with nature.
• It is similar to God's creation, providence & preservation.
• With respect to creation, it reflects creativity, order, beauty & function.
• In Exodus 28:31-33, God guides Israel into creativity.
• In this passage He instructs them how to make the priest's robes.
• He requests pomegranates of different colors to be added for decoration.
• Further, He asks for blue pomegranates which are not found in nature.
• There is freedom to make something like nature, yet creatively different from it.
• As seen in nature, we can balance:

creativity with order
beauty with function
 

• Here we discover the basis of art & science.
• Like God in His providence, we are to achieve, control, utilize & own.
• As God preserves, we are to preserve, provide & pursue health & safety.
• Here, there are fundamental balances of:

achievement with health & safety
utilization with preservation in natural resources
 

• Provision, utilization & preservation form the basis of balance in economics.
• See also: "Finances, A Topical Study from the Foundations Web Site."
• Our relationship with nature is to ultimately bring glory to God (1 Cor 10:31).

• As many of these texts show, these relationships are a partnership with God.
• For example, our faith is initiated by God (Eph 2:8-9, 1 Cor 2:5).
• Likewise, we are to manage what God ultimately owns (Mt 25:14-30).

• What is our purpose in life, why are we here?
• In God's world we are to reflect His image & bring glory to Him.
• We are to do this through our relationships with Him, humanity & nature.
• God is the author of our existence, identity, meaning, history & purpose.
• He is our role model & partner in life.