by Brian Peters

Created on: January 27, 2009

Why am I here? Where did I come from? Is there any purpose to my existence? What's wrong with the world? Can anything be done to fix it?

Big questions. But are there any answers? Every human being wrestles with these questions at some point in life. Some ponder them, then move on through their daily existence. Others become paralyzed by an inability to find satisfactory answers. The rest of us fall somewhere in between the two extremes.

So how do you answer these questions? For me, the search for answers took the first 34 years of my life. And ultimately led to this answer: the purpose of life is in finding true, self-denying, relationship with God and other people.

After a relatively uneventful childhood, I pursued career, success, possessions and pleasure - all of the things our society tells us to pursue. I became a successful lawyer, married a beautiful woman, bought lots of toys, and set out to enjoy life on my terms. Only to come up empty. At every turn, those things the world offered left me cold, empty and without answers. Though successful as a lawyer, every case I won simply meant I had to start over again on another case. The new things I bought would bring me satisfaction for a few weeks, or a few days, and then I would tire of them. Pleasuring myself with alcohol or physical pursuits became more and more difficult, requiring ever greater quantities of alcohol or sex to ease the pain brought on by this inability to find answers to life's biggest questions.

Finally, at the age of 34, on the brink of divorce, drowning in alcohol, I turned back to something I remembered from my childhood - religion. More specifically, Christianity. Bear with me here and try not to tune out just because I've mentioned the "C" word. You see, in Christianity I discovered that life is not about me. It is about relationships with others - with God and other people. In pursuing those relationships and seeking to meet others needs, rather than my own, I've discovered answers a peace with these big questions that I never had before. Let me explain why.

The Christian Bible, more than anything else, is a story. Yes it may seem odd and disjointed at times, but everything you find there is part of the grand story of human existence. It tells us that we are created beings, and that there is a creator greater than us. It tells us that this creator made not just us, but the entire universe, and that he made us, human beings, to rule over his creation, but under this authority.

But it also

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