If you are a football player in the NFL, you have one professional goal that overshadows all others—win the Super Bowl. If you are a student, one academic goal dominates your time: graduation. In many areas of life, it is easy to identify your core goal.
But what is the goal of life?
It’s one thing to know your goal as an NFL player or a student. It’s another to know your goal as a human being. What is it, that if we achieve, we have succeeded in life—regardless of what else we didn’t achieve? What is it, that if we don’t achieve, we have failed in life—regardless of what else we did achieve? Most of us can probably quickly reject superficial answers to these questions such as “make lots of money,” or “be a star.” We understand that there are life-goals more important than those. But which goal is the goal of life?
My own reading of Scripture, and the opinion of Christian guides for centuries, has led to me understand that there are two central goals of life. They rise above all others. They define what it is to be human. I’ll summarize them in this way: intimacy with God and imitation of God.
Listen to Jesus on this matter:
Jesus says in Jn. 17:3, “Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” The kind of life that is worth living forever is one centered on one thing: knowing God—intimacy with God.
Jesus says in Matt. 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Imitate the Father’s perfection.
Jesus brings the two together in Matt. 22:34-40 when he says that every commandment in Scripture can be summarized by two: 1) love God, and 2) love neighbor. Every instruction God has given about life can be summarized in this way: intimacy with God (love God) and imitation of God (love those whom God loves). That is the goal of life. That is the one thing, which if we achieve, we have succeeded—regardless of what else we didn’t achieve.
With that goal in sight, the next question is this: how do we reach it? If nothing in life is more significant than growing in intimacy with God and becoming an imitator of God, how do we get there?
One way of answering this question is to understand that intimacy and imitation are not goals that we achieve. They are gifts that we receive. In 2 Cor. 3:18 Paul writes, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness.” We are not transforming ourselves. We are being transformed. In Eph. 1:17 Paul prays, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.” Paul doesn’t ask us to work harder to know God better. He prays for God to work hard so that we may know him better. Intimacy and imitation are not goals we achieve, they are gifts we receive.
Yet, we have a role to play in receiving this gift. Just as faith and baptism were the roles we played to receive the gift of salvation, so there is a role we play in receiving this gift of intimacy and imitation. The role we play is this: spiritual disciplines. These habits or practices are not ends in themselves. The goal of life is not to simply pray a lot or fast much or read the whole Bible. Rather, they are the means by which we receive the true goal. Three images can illustrate:
First, if intimacy and imitation are like seeds that God plants and waters, then the spiritual disciplines are the way in which we prepare, fertilize, and nurture the soil to receive those seeds. These habits help ensure that our hearts will receive intimacy and imitation in a way that allows them to blossom fully. The seed and water are God’s work. The disciplines are ours.
Second, if intimacy and imitation are like a wind that God blows, then the spiritual disciplines are the way in which we raise and trim the sails. They allow us to receive that wind in the best possible way. The wind is God’s work. The disciplines are ours.
Third, the disciplines are like training. Paul urges Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:7-8, “train yourself to be godly.” These spiritual disciplines are the ways in which we put ourselves into spiritual training.
And just as those who want to learn the art of cultivating seeds often seek guidance from seasoned gardeners, just as those desiring to catch the wind in their sailboat often need direction from experienced sailors, just as those longing to train for a marathon seek advice from those who’ve already trained, so any who want to embrace a life of spiritual disciplines will do well to seek help from those who’ve gone before. I’d like to recommend three books which might serve as “personal trainers” for you if you desire to grow in spiritual disciplines:
Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline Revised and Expanded edition (Harper & Row, 1988) is the “classic” in this field. Foster writes from an eclectic background, and thus you may find things you’ve never heard of in his book. But it is well-worth the read.
Marjorie Thompson’s Soul Feast (Westminster John Knox, 1995) is not as comprehensive as Foster’s, but is easier to read. Where Foster covers twelve disciplines, Thompson covers seven.
John Ortberg’s The Life You’ve Always Wanted (Zondervan, 1997) is perhaps the most well-written and easy-to-understand book on the disciplines. It is entertaining and challenging. You might start with Ortberg and then move on to Thompson or Foster.
There is nothing more important than pursuing the life-goal of intimacy with God and imitation of God. And there is no path toward that goal like the path of spiritual disciplines. May God grant you the strength, wisdom, and encouragement needed to begin or continue walking that path.
