The Purpose of Man: Part II

The second part of this blog about the catechism answer to the question: "What is the chief end (or purpose) of man?" is " ... to glorify God ..."

I was reading an article today about the need for heroes. The writer, Jon Foreman, said he had found a hero in John M. Perkins. He is, as we are told: "a man who devoted his life to those around him in simple and profound ways. He was quick to forgive, quick to utilize resources to help those in need. He has been a tireless civil rights worker who has endured beatings, harassments, and even prison for what he believes. With the help of his wife, Vera Mae, and a few others, he founded a health center, leadership development program, thrift store, low-income housing development and training center in his hometown of Mendenhall, Mississippi. His is a story of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of patience. He endured the suffering, holding on to a cause greater than himself."

It's great that Jon Foreman considers such a man a hero. So many others require more flashy evidence. Then came the quotation (emphasis added) that made me think about this subject: "His is a story that reminds me of a goodness beneath the system. Though Perkins was a devout Christian, he was quick to point out that this goodness is bigger than stale religion. Mr. Perkins once said that 'many congregations do nothing but outsource justice.'"

Suppose Mr Perkins' quotation is only partly accurate, then this is a telling indictment of the way many Christians view their beliefs. That someone can, with any legitimacy, label a congregation's Christianity as "stale religion" and see their work as "outsourcing justice" is a shame to us all. Has the Church really reached the point where our faith does not remind us of why we are here? Has her teaching really deteriorated to the point that some can imagine "outsourcing justice" is what it means to glorify God? And what about the idea that there can be a version of Christianity which is no longer fresh? All these questions may only be the result of one man's inability to find a local Church which is truly Christian but they do remind us that the task of evangelizing the nation is still a long way from complete.

Mr Perkins is an encouragement to believe the are some who take their role of glorifying God seriously and a reminder that we need to do much more than talk about serving God and our fellow man. We need to remember that our savior spent his whole life doing good as well as teaching. I remember talking about justification by faith to someone recently. They were hot to remind me that we are saved by faith alone and even quoted the Bible correctly to prove it. The problem I had with their presentation (and which led to a further discussion) was that there did not seem to be any need for us to "show our faith by our works," as James so beautifully puts it.

If, as the catechism puts it our main purpose in life is to glorify God, then we need to show it by more than just theological acumen. Perhaps a part of the problem is that so many of us are used to seeing Christianity in terms of its message and attacks on its theology. In such a context it can become easy to forget that Christianity is a life based on a particular relationship which has practical implications. There was a reason Jesus taught his disciples as they moved around Israel - he wanted them to learn to both do and teach as he did.

I read what Jon had to say about Mr Perkins and thought how important it would have been for young men (especially - but young women as well) to have learned to do what he was doing and to learn the Christian reasons why he acted as he did. Then I got to wondering why that same principle (based on what Jesus did) wouldn't work in today's Churches. I couldn't think of a single reason ... as long as it wasn't all taught by a minister/pastor.

There are a few advantages - young Christians would learn that there is no area of life which is not affected by the way we honor Christ; they would learn there are things each and every one of us can do to honor God in our lives, they would learn that doctrine and life are complementary parts of the same life, they would see that doctrine informs our actions, they would even learn that God loves us in spite of our failings. Hmmm Oh, and did I mention that Mr Perkins would eventually be considered "just another Christian" as I am sure he would want it to be.