The Bible: A Story That Makes Sense of Life Sýnishorn

Origins and Human Purpose – What was our Original Vocation?

American rifle shooter Matt Emmons was one shot away from winning gold at the 2004 Olympics. He was so far ahead, his bullet just needed to hit the target. Anywhere. With nerves of steel he pulled the trigger. Bull’s-eye! But when Emmons looked at the scoreboard, nothing registered. It turns out he hit the wrong target. Standing in lane two, he had hit the target for lane three. Emmons couldn’t have been more accurate, just in the wrong direction. 

It’s possible to achieve wealth and fame but still feel like we’ve missed the mark. However, we can understand what true success looks like by revisiting our original purpose as set out in Genesis 2. 

To be made in the image and likeness of God implies a shocking level of similarity between humans and God. God actually imparted His personal Spirit to the first humans so that they could share life together: ‘The LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’ (Genesis 2:7). We have the unique capacity to host God’s presence and to know Him personally. Our desire for meaning cannot be satisfied by living any other way, even if we’re very good at it. As St Augustine famously concluded: ‘You made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts will always be restless until they find rest in you.’

Our origins story contains a puzzling phrase: ‘Let us make man in our image.’ Who is God speaking to? Within God Himself there is a community of persons in conversation – the Trinity. This explains a lot about why we are such talkative, sociable creatures who flourish in families and communities. Unfortunately, our culture has valued productivity and consumption ahead of family and friendship. Now we face a scourge of our own making: loneliness. Instead, we need to revisit our origins and re-evaluate our priorities. True friendship is an echo of the divine community that we originate from. 

As well as being hard-wired for relationships, the image of God also carries responsibility. Originally, humans lived in Eden, in harmony with the natural environment. But God also commissioned them to, ‘be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it’ (Genesis 1:28) – to take the beauty of Eden and extend it outwards, in partnership with God. Building sustainable societies was part of our original vocation. We were made to enjoy a relationship with God and to reflect His beauty to the world. Our original purpose was to bridge heaven and earth, so the whole world would flourish. That’s what success looks like. Bull’s-eye!

REFLECT: Which of the three purposes are strongest and weakest in your life? Celebrate the strongest and write down a practical way to invest in the weakest.