The Bible’s foundational command to us is presented in Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Throughout the centuries, those who have sincerely sought to follow God have grappled with how we are to live this out.
In 1647, church leaders in Scotland and England presented a catechism (the Westminster Shorter Catechism) to teach children the basics of the Christian faith. The first question of the catechism addresses this foundational command: “What is the chief end of man?”
We know, from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, that our chief purpose in life is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and soul and strength, but how might they communicate that to children in a way that might help children learn how to live it out?
Here is the answer they provided: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
What does it mean to glorify God? From a child’s perspective, when a child admires a particular person (a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach or whatever), the child tries to copy the characteristics of that person; the child tries to model his or her behavior after the person he or she admires. That’s what it means to glorify God. For a Christian, it means that we try to model our behavior after Jesus; we try to copy Christ’s way of loving others.
What does it mean to enjoy God? From a child’s perspective, when a child loves a particular person, the child loves spending time with that person, for the child loves the care, attention, and instruction received from that person. For a Christian, that means that we find ways to give ourselves time in Christ’s presence to take in the care, attention and instruction that he would pour into our lives.
From a child’s perspective, both glorifying God and enjoying God are relational matters. Our chief end—our primary purpose in life—is not to rack up certain accomplishments or to check off items from a bucket list or to make a name for ourselves. Our chief end is to live in and to live out God’s love for us and God’s love for others. Living in God’s love and living out God’s love brings a joy and fulfillment to life that lasts beyond the ups and downs of life, and beyond any successes or failures of our lives.