The Aim of Life

Have you ever thought about the fact that all living organisms are preoccupied with the perpetuation of life? From a single cell to the most complex plants and animals, all of the organelles, organs and systems within an organism are focused on the perpetuation of life. Of course, the ability to reproduce is the most obvious manifestation of this phenomenon - where life perpetuates itself from generation to generation. And, within this system, we know that the characteristics of the organism are controlled by genetics. In this regard, it is interesting to note that even ecosystems (made up of many different kinds of organisms) seek to perpetuate themselves, and that the process of evolution is concerned with the adaptation of living things to their environment for survival.

What does this impetus toward self-perpetuation tell us about ourselves and the world we live in? Does all life in the universe follow this pattern? Is life always in the process of riding on some asteroid, meteorite or other celestial body to introduce life to some new planet or moon somewhere else? Does the evolutionary cycle repeat itself, over and over again, throughout the universe? Did life on earth arrive here from some other planet? Has life from here already begun again somewhere else? Was the development of self-awareness and reasoning part of this process of self-perpetuation? Did God/Nature intend for us to someday have the ability to manipulate genetics?

It is also interesting to note that human religions are very much concerned with the concepts of immortality and eternity. Why? We read in Scripture that God has planted eternity in the human heart (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). And, if we backup to the beginning of this chapter, we read that there is a time for every activity under heaven (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Does that mean that death, war and destruction are also part of the process of self-perpetuation? We wonder, and yet we read in that same verse (Ecclesiastes 3:11) that we simply cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.

Call it what you will: God, nature, universe or cosmos. Immortality and eternity seem to be valid concepts, and the evidence suggests that there is more going on here than meets the eye! What do you think?