"If only I could find my purpose in life...!"
(...said the hammer to the screwdriver)
No creation ever determined it's own purpose.
The purpose of a creation
is always determined by its creator.
The purpose of a tool
is always determined by the tool-maker.
The one God, created one humanity, for one principal purpose, that He literally spells out for them...
"Male and female he created them."
"And God blessed them, saying:
Increase and multiply, and fill the earth."
(Genesis 1:28)
"Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)
(according to your state in life)
Your Principal Purpose is:
for the glory and in the service of God
All are free to reject this, as most do.
Many attempt to determine their own principal purpose, often by mis-prioritising their "career".
Accepting God's principal purpose for your existence underlines the critical importance of:
The divine blessing of Co-creation and the parental duty to raise Christian offspring
"And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart."
"And thou shalt tell them to thy children: and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
"bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)
From principal purpose flows all secondary purpose, determined through God's grace by His allocation of natural gifts, talent and disposition (virtue, charity, humility etc)
Celibates aside, every person has the free will to either cooperate with God's will and start a family once they leave father and mother, or to frustrate that will by taking their own 'more strategic' trajectory or setting their own 'more strategic' timetable.
History proves that non-cooperation with God's will ultimately leads to loss and destruction (not necessarily of a material kind).
Cooperation with His will and graces, leads to the development of virtue, natural talent and motivation, resulting in an abundance of life (not necessarily a life of material abundance).
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly." (St John 10:10)
God's will is to populate heaven, with holy souls taken from this world that have been sanctified in truth.
Living according to God's will requires full cooperation with His principal purpose for your creation and existence.
Man was created to know, love and serve God in this world, and in so-doing becomes His adopted children, heirs to the inheritance of His heavenly Kingdom.
"For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God."
"And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him." (Romans 8:16-17)
Glorifying, worshipping and serving God is just, and in justice, these acts constitute duties because they render what is due to the Creator, for blessing man with all that life in this world has to offer.
Christian parents perform this sacred duty of service to God by raising holy families, sanctifying them in the truth of Holy scripture and thus destining them for eternal life with God.
"Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." (St John 17:17-19)
The greatest disservice to God would be to risk any of one's precious offspring, falling into the great ocean of lost souls destined for destruction, through neglect of this sacred duty.
The public school system was specifically designed to supplant the role of parents as primary educators of their children, and to relieve them of this sacred Christian duty.
In this regard the education system has largely achieved its special military objective.
Every person must choose the army they serve; either that of eternal life and hope, or that of eternal death and despair.
The choice of the vast lukewarm majority is neutral non-alignment, which defaults automatically to eternal death and despair.
Given the stakes involved, there is no more consequential topic upon which to focus one's attention.
A Life or Death Challenge
In the world of scientific endeavor there is one challenge above all others, that none of the greatest minds in human history have been able to conquer.
No scientist has ever been able to create new life, except according to God's formula.
The creation of life is God's domain.
God blessed man with a conditional licence to access this domain, as well as the free will with which to trespass upon it.
Having created man..."God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth" (Genesis 1:28)
God instituted marriage as a blessing, with limits governing the co-creation of new life, for the benefit of His co-creators and their offspring, as well as to best effect His divine will to populate heaven with holy souls:
"Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)
In God's plan there is no provision for a period of childish, self-indulgent singledom immediately after leaving father and mother.
Men are commanded to take a wife, and to produce offspring, because this is God's plan which is always in man's best interests, provided it is executed in accordance with the divine will.
Rebellion against the divine will, always ends poorly for the hapless rebel.
On the contrary, there is no human pursuit more rewarding or more joyous than the creation of new life in accordance with God's command and law, with its clear limits and eternal consequences for breach.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is prudence"
(Proverbs 9:10)
Having been beneficiaries of God's great blessing, there is a duty to raise offspring constantly immersed in the word of God, that sanctifies in truth:
"And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart.
And thou shalt tell them to thy children: and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
"bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)
Integral to raising a holy family for a man, is his choice of a wife and mother to his children.
"Did not one make her, and she is the residue of his spirit? And what doth one seek, but the seed of God?" (Malachi 2:15)
A Godly woman will bring forth Godly seed.
By her fruits she shall be known.
She will be a model of virtue to her offspring when they are at their most impressionable.
According to God's hierarchical order, she will be subject to her husband in all things not sinful, in charge of her family's domestic affairs, choosing modest dress with a veil on Sundays, reflecting her command of scripture and her natural feminine humility.
It is not possible to over-state how vital (i.e. life-giving) is the choice of a truly Christian wife and mother, in this modern secular world where pride, self-focus, rebellion and scandal abound.
Both parents will live and breath the word of God as mandated by scripture and will instill this discipline in their offspring, thus sanctifying them in the truth.
Because each parent personally shares the divine blessing of co-creation, the duty to raise offspring in the Christian faith is also personal to each parent.
This means the duty may never be delegated, whether to the other parent, or to a school or even to the Church.
A father must exercise the headship of his family by attending to this sacred duty personally.
Following is a summary of the essentials of the Christian faith that, as a minimum, every parent must understand, then pass that understanding on to their offspring, in order to discharge their sacred duty of service to God and to fulfill the principal purpose of their existence.
p.s. coming late to the realisation of personal short-comings in this regard is a cross to bear, calling for amends to be made by the power of God's grace.