We all want to feel like we have purpose in life. I know that those people who don't feel like they have purpose feel incredibly lost in their life. Many struggle with having any motivation to accomplish anything in life. You probably know people who are like this. They get up each day and just go through the motions. Some struggle to even get out of bed.
The truth is, God created each one of us with a purpose. The challenge in life is to find this purpose God has for us. And yet, at this point, I want to give a little warning. When we think about our purpose, our initial thoughts probably go to what we are meant to "do."
We live in a world where we feel like we have to prove ourselves. This comes at an early age. When we do things as a little child (for example, take our first step) our parents applaud us for it. As we live our lives, we get accolades for doing things well. In one sense this is good, because we need affirmation. But in another sense, it causes us to feel like "we are what we do."
When I talk about purpose, I want us to understand first and foremost that our purpose is to be a child of God. In the Bible, in Genesis chapter 1, after God creates man and woman, He says: "It is good." God is pleased with Adam and Eve before they did anything. God was pleased with them just because they existed.
And God created us to be in relationship with God. In the Westminster (Shorter) Catechism, the first question asks: "What is the chief end of man?" The answer: "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." Did you catch that? We are to glorify God with who we are and enjoy being in relationship with God.
If I were to have asked you to write a purpose statement for your life at the beginning of this blog, your statement probably would have included much about what you felt like you needed to do. But the important foundational truth, is that our purpose is to BE who God created us to be, and to worship God, be in relationship with God, and experience the joy of knowing God.
My purpose statement says: "Biblical Purpose: The purpose of my life is to know God intimately through my relationship with Christ, and let God’s Spirit work in and through me as I abandon myself to Him."
If we try to make our purpose based on what we do, we will never feel like we measure up. If we let our purpose be to discover God and be in relationship with God, then we can enjoy life for who God made us to be, and experience the joy of discovering life anew each day.
What do you think? Let me know your thoughts by clicking on the "comment" button below.
1 comment:
A couple of nights ago I had an opportunity to "re-visit" my Biblical Purpose Statement. At the time, it was not my intention to do so, but as I confessed some frustrations and feelings of emptiness to God, the Holy Spirit led me to this conclusion:
"I exist to be the object of God’s devotion and adoration and love. Everything that he does is because He loves me. I am loved so much by the Creator of the Universe that even if I were the only person separated from him, he would still willingly take on flesh and die in my place. I am created to be in communion with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is through my receiving God’s amazing, infinite gift of love that this can be so."
Yes, to some, that may sound conceited and vain. Yet, that is how any loving parent feels about their unborn child ... BEFORE the child has a chance to "do" anything. If that's how human parents see their children, imagine how much more God is devoted to us before we are born. To think of how much attention to detail the Creator of the Universe took in creating us and planning our lives is, to say the least, mind-boggling.
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