Logically there are 2 possible truths.
Either: 1) There is no god and therefore life has no purpose in a teleological sense. There is no afterlife and all meaning in our lives is self-made based on individual and societal values. Morality is a relative construct based on human ideals which can change.
Or: 2) There is a god who created us and the world, and ultimately our purpose is to please or glorify god. There is an afterlife and our beliefs and actions in this life determine our eternal destination. Morality is separate from human ideals but instead is god's will.
We cannot know which of these possibilities is The Truth through our reason alone. Both are equally reasonable, but only one can be true.
Assuming that we believe that there is a god who created the world and ourselves, what can we know about him?
Can we know that god is good? Does perfection, and therefore goodness, exist in him? I there a distinction between the idea that god, if perfect, can ONLY do good and the idea that whatever he does is good, simply by the virtue that he did it? Could god be or do wrong or evil?
There is evil by commission and evil by omission. God created the world, something which is outside himself. Then he created us, in his image (according to the Bible), with the free will to choose. So has god limited himself by creating a closed system, assuming this neutral space is the only place free will could truly exist? I believe C.S. Lewis says (in Mere Christianity) that the world must be a closed system to allow for free will.
A miracle can be defined as the supernatural: something happens that is not in accordance with the Laws of Nature. Miracles (by this strict definition) can only be perpetrated by beings outside this world, with the power to affect it. The question is, if miracles can and do happen, why do they occur in some instances and not others?
This is summed up in the Problem of Evil: If God is good and all powerful, why is there evil in the world?
Evil exists either because: There is no God, and technically good and evil is just a man-made construct; God is not good, or is indifferent; or God is not all powerful.
If divine intervention was everywhere, would that destroy the neutrality of the world? If people saw miracles everyday, it wouldn't take much faith to believe that god exists. God can and will redeem the world according to His will (promised in the Bible), but when He does so, free will can no longer exist. With redemption comes judgment. God chooses to allow evil for a time because the good that comes from our choosing Him of our own free will is worth all the temporary pain and death of evil. In the end, all evil will be punished. We just can't see justice from our temporal position.
Might God have limited His power of influence in the world for a time, and primarily have to work through His agents? Could other celestial beings (angels and demons) have the power to change things here? If God fills His followers with the Holy Spirit, and the Devil also possesses his followers, then spiritual warfare is not metaphorical but literal.
God has limited His power in order to allow people to freely choose Him, thereby bringing Him glory. God has the power to remake the world perfectly, and has promised that that day is coming. Until then God is doing all He can to save as many people by making His invitation to salvation as accessible as possible, but He is (perhaps) limited by His followers (His hands and feet on Earth) and hindered by the Devil. If we consider the Problem of Evil from outside of Time as we know it, it is possible for God to be both good and ultimately all powerful.
God cannot save everyone because He will not force people to accept Him. Hell does exist. Life is not fair. Not everyone has the same opportunity to learn about God and have an informed choice as to whether or not they believe in Him and follow His teachings. If God is righteous He will take that into account on Judgment Day. We can't know how.
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