Two writers have had a huge impact on my life in the last five years: Greg Baer and Henri Nouwen. They have both helped me to see that the purpose of life is to learn to love others, not to have everything going my way all the time.
Greg Baer teaches that most people believe that the purpose of life is to consistently enjoy comfort, convenience, pleasure, and fairness. He says that with this belief, situations such as sickness, disability, and poverty become intolerable. But the goals of life are not comfort and ease. The ultimate goal of life is to have joy and peace. We can only have genuine joy and peace as we share love with those around us. “When we believe that learning to love others is the greatest joy of life, we begin to see events that are painful and difficult in a different light.”
Henri Nouwen gives us a similar perspective on the purpose of our lives when he writes, “Many people live with the unconscious or conscious expectation that eventually things will get better; wars, hunger, poverty, oppression, and exploitation will vanish; and all people will live in harmony. Their lives and work are motivated by that expectation. When this does not happen in their lifetimes, they are often disillusioned and experience themselves as failures."
“But Jesus doesn't support such an optimistic outlook. He foresees not only the destruction of his beloved city Jerusalem but also a world full of cruelty, violence, and conflict. For Jesus there is no happy ending in this world. The challenge of Jesus is not to solve all the world's problems before the end of time but to remain faithful at any cost.”
These two teachers help me to appreciate people I know who are facing some of the toughest things life can throw at them and are still loving and faithful. They have given me a clear vision of what I want to do with my life. I want to learn to love others. I want to remain faithful no matter what happens.
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