Most of us, if not all, have a purpose in life. Some may work to death and go after money or material possessions. Others do their best to chase fame and power. On the other side, there are people who do not even know their purpose. Worse, there are those people who do not care about it at all. They just simply want to live and die.
I often wondered my purpose in life. In my heart, I wanted to exist to be famous and rich. I desired to influence people to do their best and succeed. I had the urge to tell them to compete with the world and take as much opportunities as they could while still alive. But that was a couple of months ago. Slowly, God worked in my heart and patiently showed my real purpose. Through His Word and His providential circumstances, I have learned to align my purpose to eternity. And that purpose is found in Him.
How can we really fulfill our purpose in Him?
Spend Your Life Knowing and Serving Him
I met a person who is so driven and passionate with his life. He has a good and thriving career. He has a car. He travels abroad. His life seems so perfect. On the other hand, I have a friend who is disengaged. She does not have any plan. She just goes with the flow. She feels contented having a job that sustains her lifestyle. I had chances to be with them and talked about some spiritual stuff a few months ago. Through the course of our conversation, I found out that both of them are aware that there is God. But for them, believing that there is God is enough. No need to further explore things. They believe that there is a mighty Being up there, too. Maybe these friends never understood why they were created and for whom they were made for.
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6
Once I read that we are made by God and we are made for God. That’s exactly our identity. We are His. No further complication. No other options. And the above verse perfectly explained who we are and why we exist in this wide world. Imagine, even Solomon with his great wisdom and riches acknowledged that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). This is vital in our earthly journey. Without recognizing the one Who made us and what we were made of, it would be impossible to spend our lives knowing and serving Him.
Spend Your Life on The Right Things
We always have the choice to spend our lives on the wrong things. We can chase after money, fame, earthly possessions, and all the desires of our hearts. But what if one day, it is too late for us to realize that there is no more tomorrow?
A familiar parable is told about the foolish rich man who had an abundant harvest just to know that he did not have enough barns to store his crops. He thought that he must tear down his barns and build bigger ones where he could store his grains. Then he said, “take life easy, drink and be merry.” But that very night, God took his life (Luke 12:13-21).
Whenever I read this story, I shake my head and utter, “How foolish.” But it always fires back. Looking back, I was exactly the same person as that rich and foolish man. I thank God because He gave me another chance to realign my purpose with His.
What good do we have when we have everything, yet we forget God?
If today is our last day, can we still undo the past? Everything will soon pass away. Nothing in this world will be remembered forever. Those things will not last. But our souls and the things that we do to serve God will matter in eternity. It is either in heaven or hell though.
I have feared death before. I thought I was just too young to die. But when I am already assured with my eternal destination, I feel at peace knowing that when I sleep, I will be awaken in the glory of my God.
I used to love life. But I finally realized that life is not all about how long or short it is. It is about finding your purpose and joyfully living it by God’s grace. Jesus lived on earth for just 33 years. Yet, He lived a full life because He was able to accomplish His purpose.
Life is beautiful and precious when we live it with God. The first step to knowing your purpose is to know Him. Despite being God, He came down to earth to die on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins. Because of that, we gain victory over sin and death.
We can be whatever God intends us to be as long as we exist to glorify God.
What about you, my friend? Have you ever thought of how short life is and how real death is?
Have you found your eternal purpose? Life is short but eternity is forever. I pray that you will spend your life for Jesus.
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