The End of Man

Q. "Why did God make you?
A. "God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next."

There was a time when we knew this from memory and had internalized it. It was a rote answer, yet for many people it nevertheless came form the heart.  Now it's been forgotten--or worse, pushed aside--with the result being that life has become fleeting yet endless.

Man was made to be happy, was made for love; and on the other hand, to seek truth, to know. Happiness is found in meaning, love is found in truth. In abandoning this simple wisdom, and in turning away from God, man loses not only truth and meaning, but also ultimately knowledge, happiness, love, and indeed his very identity, his very soul.

We cannot find any of these things ultimately in the world. We catch glimpses of them, in temporary, incomplete, and imperfect forms: so many reflections as in a glass. In turning away from God, we turn away from that which we are seeking, that which makes us happy, or wise, or really loving. We substitute purpose for meaning for end, and kindness for charity for love, with the result that even kindness seems bitter, and our purposes seem empty and contrived.