Tag: chief end of man

365+ Days of Enjoying God

~ K ~ 2 Comments


Since joining the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) in 2007, I have been meditating on the answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Q: What is the chief end of man?

A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

There are two parts to this answer: (1) glorify God, (2) enjoy Him forever. I’ve never been baffled much by the first part but the second part has always left me stymied. From my February 2010 entry:

I know how to enjoy His creation but enjoying Him is an entirely different matter.

Recently, it dawned on me: the way to enjoy God is by knowing Him and having an active, personal relationship with Him.

How do I enjoy the people I care about? I enjoy them through their qualities or attributes and not necessarily the things that they do for me (contrary to how I often approach God). For example, I enjoy being around my husband and spending time with him because he’s funny, smart, and kind; not necessarily because he brings me a latte when I want him to (although that IS a bonus).

As a result, I realized the way for me to enjoy God (and fully understand the second part to the first answer of the catechism) is to know, see, and experience God’s attributes and who He is in relationship to me. Here is a Biblical list of some of God’s attributes (with the help of The Navigators website): Continue reading “365+ Days of Enjoying God” →

Exploring my meaning and purpose in life

~ K ~ 3 Comments

Who am I?

As a product of the instant gratification generation, I want to know the answer to who I am and why I’m here NOW. The two basic questions I grapple with on a daily basis are:

  1. What is my meaning in life?
  2. What is my purpose?

And when I say daily basis, I mean, daily as in every single day. Usually the standard answer I give myself is the first Q&A from the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

I’m not sure how those in the Reformed faith applied that practically in 1646 but I’m trying to figure out what that looks like in 2010.

Does that result in a list of do’s and don’ts? There’s a call to holiness: how do I live that out? I’m called to be a Christian witness 24/7 but often feel like a practical atheist—speak of God, am interested in the things of theology but do not really talk about my faith outside of… my faith. Quite the impractical faith. But I’m not trying to get into a discussion of evangelism and witnessing right now. I’m trying to figure out how to accomplish my meaning and purpose in life by glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.

Glorifying God and enjoying Him look different for each person. We are not all the same and we are not called to be alike. While we all have the same chief end, how that plays out looks different in an individual’s life.

So in my life, what does glorifying God look like? Well, to be quite honest, I’m not so sure. As a Christian though, there are certain things I am called to:

  • Being a good wife
  • Seeking after God through prayer, Bible reading, worship with His community, and the preaching of His word
  • Exercising my spiritual gift of mercy (and supposedly encouragement) to those who need it (in and out of the body of Christ)

And how do I enjoy Him? You’ve got me. I know how to enjoy His creation but enjoying Him is an entirely different matter.