In the end we all have a telos. Its been 3,000 years since Aristotle
commented on the Greek word telos. He said that a telos is an end state
that guides all natural things. We see telos in the laws of nature. When a weight like a stone falls to earth it
does so the same way. It never
varies. It responds to the law of physics
we call gravity. That is its telos.
All forms of biological life grow and adapt to suit their
habitat. Growth is their telos.
As humans, like all biological life forms, our telos is physical
growth, but we are also social, spiritual beings created for positive
relationships with God and others. We
act for the benefit of others. We reciprocate.
We seek interpersonal fulfillment.
We love self and others. 
Love is our social
and spiritual telos. In spite of our fallen, sinful human nature,
in the end we are made to love God, ourselves, and others. But because of the sinfulness of human
nature, it isn’t easy, especially given our fallen nature and others who are
not very lovable. In fact, we cannot
love consistently and with a pure love without the help of God’s holy
spirit. The Bible speaks to us about the
telos of love restored by the
presence and indwelling of Christ in us through the Holy Spirit:
- · We are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26,27)
- · In Christ we are restored to the image of our Creator (Colossians 3:9,10)
- · God is love (1 John 4:8)
- · God has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3)
- · God’s greatest expectation is that we love him, ourselves, and others in return (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37)
- · By his dwelling within us, we can grasp the magnitude of God’s love and be filled with God’s love to the full (Ephesians 3:19)
- · God can cleanse our hearts from sin and fill our hearts with pure, holy love after the likeness of his heart (Ps. 51:10).
The telos of a
heart after the likeness of God’s own heart is not the ultimate end A pure heart makes
possible becoming like Christ, a suffering servant. It makes possible loving others even when it
is difficult and when loving the unlovable occasions sacrifice and
suffering. How do Nigerian Christians
love their Muslim neighbors who burn down their churches and do even far
worse. How to Coptic Christians love and
forgive their Muslim neighbors who do the same.How do Ukrainian and Russian Christians reachout and
reconcile with each other. We could go on with a litany of anger, vengeance,
and reciprocal hate over human history and across the world today. However, the telos of a pure-hearted follower of Christ is to be a suffering
servant whose loving character and nature means following in the likeness of
the Suffering Servant.
In the end, our
spiritual telos is to bring glory to
God. In so doing, we make possible the
ultimate end for which we were
created, to bring glory to God. This is
the telos of a follower of Christ.
Now unto him . . . Glory!
Ephesians 3:20 & 21
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