4.1 Waarom zijn we eigenlijk op aarde?
God verlangt maar één ding: jouw geluk. Daarvoor heeft Hij jou gemaakt. Je kunt zinvol en gelukkig leven door oog te hebben voor God en andere mensen.
God is overal aanwezig waar mensen van elkaar houden, voor elkaar zorgen of samen bidden. Door zo te leven richt je je tegelijkertijd op je uiteindelijke toekomst in de hemel, waar je geluk pas volmaakt zal zijn.
For what purpose did God create man and woman?
God has created everything for them; but he has created them to know, serve and love God, to offer all of creation in this world in thanksgiving back to him and to be raised up to life with him in heaven. Only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of the human person come into true light. Man and woman are predestined to reproduce the image of the Son of God made Man, who is the perfect “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). [CCCC 67]
In what does the natural moral law consist?
The natural law which is inscribed by the Creator on the heart of every person consists in a participation in the wisdom and the goodness of God. It expresses that original moral sense which enables one to discern by reason the good and the bad. It is universal and immutable and determines the basis of the duties and fundamental rights of the person as well as those of the human community and civil law. [CCCC 416]
Is there a natural law that everyone can know?
If people are to do good and avoid evil, certainty about what is good or evil must be inscribed within them. In fact there is such a moral law that is, so to speak, “natural” to men and can be known in principle by every person by reason.
The natural moral law is valid for everyone. It tells men what fundamental rights and duties they have and thus forms the real foundation for life together in the family, in society, and in the State. Because our natural knowledge is often troubled by sin and human weakness, a person needs God’s help and his revelation in order to stay on the right path. [Youcat 333]
Man, being a part of your creation, desires to praise you [as our God]. You move us to delight in praising you; for you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in you. [St. Augustine, Confessions, Bk. 1, Chap. 1 (ML 32, 661)]
The clear mercy of Christ is preached in all things, from the fact that those who perish do so from their own neglect. Those on the other hand who are saved are liberated through Christ's purpose, Who will have all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1. Tim. 2:4). [St. Ambrose, On Cain and Abel, Bk. 2, Chap. 3 (ML 14, 346)]
