Can I know what I truly believe?

Many struggle with meaning and purpose. Some want to know what to do with their lives and others ask whether it means anything at all.

If the universe is accidental and death is the end, then meaning is something we invent for ourselves.  Anything we invent can just as easily be lost. Many people today feel exactly this: a low-level sense that something is missing, that the things they pursue don’t ultimately satisfy.

The Christian answer is different. Life has meaning because it was made by a God who is himself the source of meaning. The Westminster Catechism, written in the 1640s, puts it simply: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Purpose isn’t something we find or create but something we return to, like coming home.

Practically, this means we are made for relationship with God and with each other. We are made to love, to create, to serve, to grow. We are made to reflect the character of God in the world. When we live in alignment with that design, something rings true. When we don’t, something feels hollow even when we have everything the world says should make us happy.

Jesus summarized it in two commands: love God with everything you are and love your neighbor as yourself. A life built around those two things turns out to be not a life of limitation, but of extraordinary meaning and richness.

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
— Matthew 22:37–39

“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
— John 10:10

Further Reading:

• Got Questions – What is the meaning of life?
• Desiring God – What is the purpose of life?