Man's main goal is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
1. Whatever you drink or whatever you do, let it be for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31). O our Lord, our God, glory, praise, and power are yours, for you are the creator of all things, the creation and status of all by your will (Revelation 4:11).
2. Who am I in heaven without you? I have no satisfaction in this world without you. My body, my mind is decaying, God is the strength of my heart, eternal inheritance (Psalm 73: 25-26).
There is a reason for human existence. And the reason for this existence cannot be found in man himself! Because God created man. God created man in his own image. In the early stages of creation, man was the true image of God. Because man was not self-centered but God-centered. Before sin destroyed everything, his thoughts and desires were to serve God and to find joy in Him. When man (Adam) first sinned against God, everything changed. Instead of thinking of the greatness and beauty of God, he began to think of himself. He began to think about what it would be like if he (Adam) became great himself, and how he could enjoy himself.
Two mental formations
Let us try to see the difference between these two situations. Figure 1.1 presents that man (Adam) was created first. This image shows that all the activities of life were done in the service of God and in the pursuit of happiness. Figure 1.2 presents people who have fallen into sin. As shown here, all the activities of life have been performed in one's own service and pleasure.
Of course, it is true that many people do not live to glorify and enjoy God. They are not included in the description given in Figure 1.2. They engage themselves in various ways in such a way that it is difficult to think of them as self-centered. For example, a person may dedicate himself to the service of the country, or a person may seek the welfare of human society. There are also many people who “live with the idea of the greatest good for the greatest number of people. But in reality it is the same concept of life that we see in Figure 1.2. The reason for this being the same is that it is not God-centered, it is human-centered. That person sees the welfare of man as the main goal of his life, in fact he is looking for his own well-being, because he himself is a human being! So only a true believer (a person who truly believes in Jesus) can enjoy the glory of God and him forever. The first part of the Q&A shows how we can be God-centered people who will enjoy the glory of God and him forever.
Praise God
Praising God does not mean glorifying him. In fact, God is glorified. He is glorious from eternity, nothing can make him more glorious than his eternal glory in God's created corner. So we need to understand “the glorification of God” in this way: it means to reflect the glory of God. In Psalm 19: 1 we see, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the heavens declare his works. The beautiful world created by God is like a mirror. If you look in that mirror, you will see the glory of God. If so, the main goal of heaven and earth is to glorify or display God but there is a difference between humans: we are invited to glorify, because we want to glorify. The heavens cannot glorify God, but can describe. We want to glorify God, and that is why we have been given this wonderful opportunity. Jesus did this while serving his Father on earth. "I have glorified thee on earth, having finished the work which thou hast given me to do" (John 17: 4). He did God's will. He did it because he wanted to. That is how Jesus glorified God, and we will enjoy him forever!
Many people do not want to glorify God or enjoy him forever. (Indeed, those who repent of their sins and put their faith in Christ can do nothing but them). Many people do not want to glorify God, so it may seem that the question and answer is not correct, because it says, “Praise God is the main goal of man. But the question and answer is correct. No man can glorify God and serve Him voluntarily - even if he wants to, he is still a subject of God. Paul says, “Does not the potter have the right to make a vessel of honor and a vessel of honor out of the same clay? God is patiently enduring certain vessels of wrath for destruction, perhaps because He wants to express His wrath and power. For he that is worthy of his mercy and glory, let him be fully acquainted with the glory of his glory ”(Romans 9: 21-23). In other words, God is revealed through both the lost and the saved. Through one (those who are saved) God's mercy can be displayed and praised. Through others (those who are lost) God's wrath and judgment can be displayed and honored. The difference is that in the case of the lost (those who repent and do not believe in Christ), even if they do not enjoy it, He allows them to glorify Him. But in the case of the saved, they come forward to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
What does "main goal" mean?
When we talk about the main goal of man, we must not think that the real Christian life can be separated into several sections or rooms, which are different from one another. Of course, it is true that in the life of a Christian, there may be other ‘goals’ (purposes) than what we call “religion”. In other words, just “worship,” or “witnessing,” or “Christian service,” is not everything in the Christian life. Let us not even think that when a person preaches the gospel, he must glorify God. Many preachers preach false doctrines by which they do not glorify God. But many Christians in their workplace or business do their daily work in such a way that they glorify God! The real view is that when a person wants to glorify God, he always and in all his actions do pleasing to God. Worshiping God on the Sabbath, or testifying to an unbeliever, is a part of faithful action and healthy amazement, a part of glorifying God. Undoubtedly, some of our work is more important than others. But the true view of Christian discipleship is to live consciously, in awe of God, in the quality of his name.
It is said that everything in life will be God-centered (Figure 1.1). We want to emphasize again that no human being can live a God-centered life if he does not change by surrendering to Christ. To learn how to glorify God and enjoy him forever, we need to know the Bible's teaching on salvation. We must learn, “What people must believe in God and what duties God expects of man. And that is why in answering this question, we will focus on this later.
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