What is My Purpose?

 

The question of our purpose in life is both hard and simple.  Hard if you are asking for particulars, simple if you are looking at the big picture.  Fortunately, it's important to start with the big picture before you address the particulars.

There is an old saying that goes like this… "The most important thing is that the most important thing remains the most important thing."

 If we want to know what type of job I should get, who I should marry, or where to live, the answers don't come easy.  If we want to know what my ultimate purpose should be, the answer becomes clear.  So why do I say it comes clear?  Because I am making a very important assumption.  I am looking into the Bible to get the answers I need.  I decided a long time ago that I was not very good at answering the hard questions on my own.  I wanted to go to a source of wisdom that was greater than my own.  If possible, I wanted to hear what God had to say about the most important things in life.  Fortunately, the Lord answers those who seek for Him, if they seek with their whole heart (Dt 4:29).  He gives light to those who want to walk in His way. 

So, what are the answers as we look at the big picture?  I think there are four primary answers to the question, "What is my purpose in life?"…

1.       To know and love God

2.       To be prepared for heaven

3.       To do His will while on earth

4.       To bring honor and glory to God

You may have noticed that these four priorities have a definite theme.  They are deeply spiritual in nature.  They were written to the person who sincerely wants to know what God has to say about things.  If you believe that we are His creation, then I guess we can assume that He knows best how to order our lives.  Obviously, we would want to keep the Lord at the center of all we do.  These four priorities help insure a Christ-centered life.  And they make the most sense to someone who has received Christ as their Savior and Lord. So, let's look at them one at a time…

1.       To know and love God

·         “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Dt 6:4-5)

·         He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

·         “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (Jn 17:3)

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” ― Augustine of Hippo

Our supreme goal in life is to find a deeply satisfying and meaningful relationship with God through Christ our Lord.  This is God's plan and intent for us.  He loves each of us and although it seems incredible, He desires a personal relationship.  And if we replace this goal with any lesser one, we end up restless and frustrated.  It's normal to ask questions like, "Where do I belong?" or "What should I be doing with my life?" But if we try to answer these questions without first settling the most important, we are lost and confused.  But once we begin a relationship with God, the lesser questions start to take care of themselves.  This relationship with God comes through Christ by faith. Once started it becomes a consistent walk with the Lord. We experience personal transformation through the work of the Spirit and the Word of God.

2.       To be prepared for heaven

·         For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Ro 8:29-30)

·         Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Cor 15:50-53)

 "This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through" - song by Jim Reeves

We often feel like a stranger in a strange land.  That may be because we really do not fit in.  Once Christ comes to live in our hearts by faith, we begin a process of transformation.  As we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, we find ourselves conforming to His image.  Step by step we are becoming more like Jesus Christ.  This wonderful transformation has many advantages, and one disadvantage.  We are being prepared for our new home in heaven.  But we feel less at home here. 

 "We are immortal until our work on earth is done." - George Whitefield 

3.       To do his will while on earth

·         For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Eph 2:8-10)

·         Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (He 13:20-21) 

God's purpose for us includes working through us to accomplish His will on earth.  In addition to our personal relationship which prepares us for heaven, we also have a job to do.  That work is never to earn our salvation but is rather a result of our salvation.  He gifts and equips each of His children with special abilities to serve Him and impact the world.  We are helping to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment (Mt 22:37-39). We are contributing to the growth and health of the Body of Christ.  These things are not reserved for those called to fulltime ministry.  There are meaningful roles of service for each of God's children.  Much of the sense of fulfillment we find in this life is found as we trust God, serve Him, and complete the work He has given for us to do. 

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." - Jesus 

4.       To bring honor and glory to God

·         Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (Eph 1:3-6)

·         For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; (2 Cor 4:6-7)

·         Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Pet 2:12)

The greatest purpose we could ever fulfill would be to bring honor and glory to God.  Our salvation certainly demonstrates the glory of His grace.  We are trophies of God's grace.  We know we are sinners saved by grace.  The Cross of Christ shows God's infinite love and mercy.  The resurrection shows His power over Satan, sin, and death.  So, it begs the question, "What could we possibly do to add to all that He has already done?"  Nothing really.  But as Christ lives in us, and as His Spirit works through us, God is indeed glorified. His Spirit produces fruit through those yielded in faith. As we walk in the Spirit and grow in Christlikeness God is glorified.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever".

 

All passages in this post were taken from The New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)