A while back, my teenage daughter sent me an early morning text letting me know she couldn’t sleep. She was trying to be polite in case I was still in dreamland, but hinted that she wanted to go to her favorite breakfast spot. I love when we can escape and have some dad-daughter time, so I got out of bed, and off we went.
It is in these moments that I really get to see the person she is growing up to be. For better or worse, it is becoming increasingly apparent that she is turning into a mirror image of me. Her mind never seems to shut off, and she often finds herself pondering life’s deeper questions. Like me, she is not convinced by heart knowledge alone, but also needs logical head knowledge when it comes to matters of faith.
Due to this, we often find ourselves debating one another. Not because we disagree, but because our family’s love language, for some reason, involves humorously rage-baiting and testing one another to see if our ideas hold up under pressure.
It is often during these playful arguments that real questions about God and life make their way into the conversation.
One example occurred during a sparring session many months back. Knowing that I study why Christianity is true (apologetics), she jokingly began launching silly objections to make me defend against them. After a humorous back-and-forth, we somehow ended up on the topic of nihilism, which basically asserts that values, beliefs, and existence itself are all meaningless.1
At that point, I could tell she was actually wrestling with something. Her mood shifted from playful to somber. Unfortunately, she was also getting tired and the moment passed before we could fully think through the issue.
Not wanting to force such an important discussion before she was ready, I had to be patient and trust that God would provide another opportunity to help her work through it.
A Meaningless Eternity?
Fast forward back to our breakfast. As we were joking with one another again, the topic of nihilism came back up. She admitted that she had difficulty seeing the purpose of our existence. After saying a quick prayer in my head for God to guide the discussion (because I needed it), I asked her what she thought the purpose of God creating us was.
In so many words, she answered that our purpose was to glorify and love God, while also loving others. Her answer was certainly scriptural,2 but although she knew that her response was correct, she could not understand why this purpose was meaningful.
So I asked, “Why doesn’t loving God and loving others sound meaningful to you?”
Thankfully, she opened up further and explained how she was struggling to see the point of a world where we worship God forever and constantly work to serve others, especially if God does not actually need us to do any of it.
It was in this statement that I began to recognize her real hold-up. It was not that she was becoming nihilistic. Rather, she had not been given a proper picture of meaning that felt meaningful.
I then asked her what she thought worship was.
“Singing songs in church and praising God,” she said.
I was so thankful that she gave me an honest answer. So many people have this thought of worship, and view eternity with God as a 24/7 church service.
And let’s face it, for most of us, that does not sound very fun. Worse, we often feel guilty for feeling that way. But in reality, this picture is rooted in a distorted view of both worship and our eternal future with God.
Worship and Creation’s Joy
Natasha Crain explains worship perfectly:
Worship is a natural response to an appropriate understanding of who God is, not an act of reluctant humility before an attention-seeking Creator.3
Worship should be God-centered, involving us giving Him the glory He rightly deserves. We should absolutely express thanksgiving, sing songs, and pray to Him. Honoring God also does involve sacrifices of our time, talents, and resources.
But God’s glory and our joy are not competing purposes. Rather, our deepest joy is actually found in knowing, serving, and worshipping Him.
For one, God’s creation itself participates in worship by displaying His glory.4 And our thankful participation in that creation, when done righteously, can become an act of worship.5
To give a practical analogy, years ago we carved a trail through the woods so that our family and friends could hike upriver with inner tubes and float back down. My daughter came up with the idea and worked incredibly hard to help accomplish the task. But she was young, so of course I needed to guide her, give her the tools she needed, teach her how to use them, and slow myself down so we could work together.
What she found in our labor was tremendous happiness, accomplishment, and thankfulness. Now, years later, I get to watch her joyfully use that same trail with her brother, friends, cousins, and others. She gets to tell the story of how she built the trail with me, and it has become a fond memory we will share forever.
But the amazing thing is that every time she talks about and uses the trail with someone, it deeply pleases me to see her enjoying what we worked together to create. It honors me as her dad.
Now, God certainly doesn't need our participation, just as I certainly didn't need my daughter's help to build that trail. Yet He graciously invites us to share in His work. In much the same way that my daughter's enjoyment of the trail brings me joy, when we faithfully steward and enjoy God's good creation, we honor and please Him.6
When we thank God for and enjoy what He has blessed us with, we worship Him.
When we reflect on God’s artistic ability while watching a beautiful sunset, we honor Him.
When we praise Him for the birth of a healthy child, we glorify Him.
There is so much more to worshipping God than simply singing songs from the pews. And honestly, once we realize this, singing from the pews becomes far more enjoyable because we are doing it out of genuine reverence and thankfulness to God.
A Place We Can’t Fathom
I realized during our breakfast that the issue for many is not how we view purpose and eternity, but how we view our Father in heaven. Too often, we see Him as a harsh taskmaster who uses us needlessly, rather than a Father who loves us perfectly. If that is our view of Him, eternity sounds more like meaningless labor rather than endless joy.
At breakfast, I asked my daughter to think about some fun times we have shared as a family. After giving her time to reflect, I explained how her joyful participation in our family brings me great happiness and honor.
Once we understand that heaven is not a 24/7 Sunday morning church service, but includes full participation in a joy-filled family, we begin to form a better picture of our existence, who God is, and what eternity with Him will be like.
God, who is the source of all joy, did not create us because He needed us. Nor did He create us for a purposeless task-filled existence.
He created us as a free expression of His goodness, calling us to know Him, reflect His love, and joyfully participate in His creation. Through Christ, He also welcomes us into His redeemed family forever.
That family will ultimately dwell with Him in a renewed creation, described as a place of eternal joy where there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. It will contain wonders beyond anything we have seen, heard, or imagined. Most importantly, the God who loves us will dwell with us forever.7
To be honest, I do not fully know what all of that means. But while I may not understand how eternal purpose and joy work, I know God does. Because of that, I can trust when He promises that eternity with Him will be something I truly desire.
After all, if good parents desire purpose and joy for their families, how much more must our Father in heaven desire the same for His redeemed family?
By viewing God as the perfect Father who works all things for the good of those who love Him, we can better understand our purpose, our meaning, and our eternity.8 When we remember that He is the ultimate source of all joy, goodness, pleasure, and purpose, we begin to see that eternity with Him is not something meaningless to fear or endure, but the most meaningful place we could ever hope to be.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “nihilism,” accessed July 19, 2026, Merriam-Webster: Nihilism
See Jn. 17:3; Matt. 22:37–39; and Isa. 43:7.
Natasha Crain, Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side: 40 Conversations to Help Them Build a Lasting Faith, Kindle edition, loc. 889.
See 1 Tim. 4:4–5.
See Gen. 1:28; Gen. 2:15; Eccl. 3:12–13; 1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 1:10; and 1 Jn. 3:22.
See Ps. 16:11; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Jn. 3:2; and Rev. 21:1–5, 18–21.
Great read, Justin. I loved the analogy of the trail you used. I think it is such a great reminder that it is often easier to have conversations with a stranger than with those closest to us. At least, it is for me.
This is so helpful Justin. Excellent work.