The Goal of the Christian Life

And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. John 17:3

What is Goal of the Christian Life?

Many people mistakenly think that the purpose of Christianity is to go to heaven when we die. Others think the point is to get help to become a better, more moral person. However, the true goal of the Christian life is to know and love God.

Each one of us has been created in the image of God, with a destiny to enjoy and glorify Him forever. The ultimate nature of God is love, and the desire in the heart of God from all eternity has been that we would become like Him—filled with His love and one with Him forever.

For this reason Jesus explained that the first and greatest commandment in the Bible is “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37-38) The Bible calls this total transformation of our hearts “holiness.” To be holy is to be wholly like God from the inside out, entirely perfected in love.

God promised long before the time of Christ that He would make a way to change our hearts. “I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart” (Ezek. 11:19) This was accomplished when Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead.

God’s passionate love for us cannot be satisfied with anything less than making us radically new, holy people—not just when we die but here and now, through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. '