POINT TO PONDER:
Life is a test and a trust.
VERSE TO REMEMBER
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much." Luke 16:10a (NIV)
RICK WARREN'S THOUGHTS
The way you see your life shapes your life.
How you define life determines your destiny. Your perspective will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents, and value your relationships.
To fulfill the purposes God made you for, you will have to challenge conventional wisdom and replace it with the biblical metaphors of life.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect." [Rom. 12:2]
According to Rick Warren, the Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God's view of life:
i. life is a test;
ii. life is a trust;
iii. life is a temporary assignment.
As to Life on Earth Being a Test:
Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and ALL of life is a test.
"God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it." [1 Cor. 10:13b - NRSV]
As to Life on Earth Being a Trust:
Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and managements. We are stewards of whatever God gives us.
When God created Adam and Eve, he entrusted the care of his creation to them and appointed them trustees of his property.
"God blessed them and said to them, `Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'" [Gen. 1:28]
Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and a trust from God.
"So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" [Luke 16:11]
D-MONK'S THOUGHTS:
I think Rick Warren has really struck a chord in underscoring that our view of what life is will determine how we spend our time, energy, and talents each day. If I think that life has no underlying purpose, then I will structure each day so as to bring myself the maximum amount of pleasure regardless of the effects on relationships or the well-being of others. If I think that life is a contest, I will strive to succeed and be better than those around me. If life is a gift, I will treat it and those around me with an attitude of respect and gratitude.
I am not certain about the metaphor of life being a test. I think we are tested during life (does anybody truly doubt that we are tested?), but I don't think that a test is the ultimate goal for life. If life were simply a test, presumably some of us could pass (or it wouldn't be a true test). But Christ's redemptive act on the cross suggests otherwise. So if life includes a series of test, I think that these are only the means to another purpose.
The trust model of life really appeals to me. Everything I have comes from God and should be treated as his, not mine. All of creation and all of those other people in my life should be treated with the greatest of respect and humility and each new day should present me with the opportunity to give thanks.
But even the "Life as a Trust" model does not give a satisfactory explanation for life's purpose. It is clear from the Bible that our world is a creation in time. But it is also clear that the events taking place within time are of less importance than what is to come outside of and beyond time. So preserving God's creation as a trust may explain some aspects of life, but D-Monk thinks there still must be more to finding life's purpose.
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