Life's a $@#%$!
It's a rather loose modern translation of a statement by a Greek philosopher who said that "Life is futile, and then there's death". But you get the idea. Not everyone shares this view of life. For some the motto is "Life's to short to stuff a mushroom" - there's plenty to do, lets go do it is the attitude.
Most of us don't sit around pondering the question "What is the purpose of life". We tend to get on with life whether it's rough or going fine. But it only takes illness, death, relationships breaking up or some other unexpected upheaval to concentrate the mind. Trying to make sense of life is a serious business if you're in crisis. Sometimes the inability to find any purpose in continuing leads people to suicide.
Some who have taken time to contemplate the question - like our Greek philosopher - have come up with very different answers. One 19th Century poet concluded, "Life is mostly froth and bubble but two things stand like stone, kindness in another's trouble and courage in your own". Samuel Butler, also of the 19th Century said "Life is one long process of getting tired," and then added, "It costs a lot of money to die comfortably". It must have been a bad hair day.
More recently one of Britain's most prominent scientists, Richard Dawkins, said that to ask 'Why?' questions is pointless. Humans have purpose on the brain, he says, but asking 'Why?' questions isn't sensible. In his opinion there is no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, just blind pitiless indifference because all of life is determined by the flow of DNA and we just dance to its tune.
People have probably been asking questions about the purpose of life since shortly after life began. One book in the Bible in particular tells the story of a teacher who decided to solve the problem once and for all. "What's the point in life?" he asked. People come and people go, the sun rises and sets, everything just goes round and round and when you're dead and gone no one notices after a while. He decided to improve his education but then discovered that the more you know the more grief you get. Then he tried 'the good time'. He partied with a vengeance. Wine, wealth and a whole bunch of women for himself but it all led to the same conclusion - when I'm dead it all counts for nothing. There's no difference in the grave between me and the pauper or the fool. After each experiment he came to the same conclusion -meaningless! It's all meaningless!
Fortunately that wasn't his final conclusion. The teacher began to consider the possibility that God might figure in the equation. This led to a different kind of approach. Given that there is a God who created us and that he knows why we're here and what life is all about, then the main thing with which to concern ourselves is living in some kind of meaningful relationship with him rather than struggling around on our own. Why live in confusion and despair when it's possible to live under the care and direction of the creator? Fear (i.e. respect and honour) God and keep his commandments, was his conclusion. You can read his struggle and conclusions in Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament.
The Christian response to the question "What is the purpose of life" remains the same. Fear God and live in a meaningful relationship with him. He created us for our good and his glory. In the person of Jesus he came among us and showed us what we could and should be like. The Jesus who died for our sins and rose from the dead invites us into a new relationship with God. He said, "I have come that in order that you might have life - life in all its fullness".