The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

Warren discusses the idea that God desires a family and has created individuals to be a part of it. This is identified as God’s second purpose for human life, a plan He had even before their birth. The Bible narrates the story of God building a family who will love, honor, and reign with Him eternally, as seen in the verse, “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure” (119).

God’s nature is fundamentally relational, and He identifies Himself in familial terms: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity serves as the perfect pattern for relational harmony. God’s plan for creating a family wasn’t out of need but out of a desire to share His love and blessings. Upon placing faith in Christ, individuals become children of God, and other believers become their spiritual siblings, forming the church as a spiritual family. This family includes all believers from the past, present, and future.

Warren emphasizes that being a part of God’s family is contingent upon being born again through faith in Christ. This spiritual family is portrayed as more significant than the physical family because it is eternal, transcending the temporary and fragile nature of earthly familial bonds​​.