What is my purpose in life and why does it matter? Can knowing my purpose transform my life? Can it transform my actions and my reactions? Can purpose transform how I see trials? John’s Gospel from the first word and all the way through was written with one sincere purpose in mind—that “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). He had the privilege of seeing Jesus. He had witnessed all of His miracles. He sat at the feet of Jesus. He felt the awe and wonder of the love of Jesus for him. He witnessed the resurrection and had come to realize that there was no greater purpose in life than to point others to Jesus. The only hope for life eternal was in Jesus. Not only that, the only hope to satisfy the hunger of our souls on this earth is to know Jesus as our friend, our treasure, our Lord and our God. We were created to be loved by God, to walk daily with Him, to talk with Him, and to be bathed in His joy every day. Sin, broke that relationship; but, in Christ that relationship can be restored. John realized the wondrous gift that he had been given. He had been allowed to see Jesus and to walk with Him. He had been given “grace upon grace” (John 1:16). When John looked upon the sorrows, the trials, and the darkness of the world; his heart passionately longed to tell each and every one about Jesus. His life became filled with this one purpose.
In Christ, I have been given the greatest gift ever!! In Christ, I have been redeemed, declared a saint, adopted as a child of God, showered with His presence, and His love. The eyes of my heart have been opened to see Him in all His glorious beauty and to desire Him above all else. As that truth grows within my heart, I must share that. God loves me so much that He would not leave me here on this earth one second beyond His having purpose for me. His purpose in my remaining are twofold. 1. That I might grow in my knowledge of Him so that I can fully enjoy His presence. 2. That I might be allowed to share in His Glory by His using my life as a testimony to bring others to Him. When I realize that my purpose is to grow more intimately in love with God (my best friend who loves me more than anyone else could) and then to share His gospel with everyone I meet; then, my life view changes. I think there are 4 main changes that occur when we see our purpose in Christ.
1. We desire to study the word of God and to seek His presence in prayer. Whatever happens in our life, we run to talk to Him. I saw a commercial advertising about the “Forever friend and love” diamond. One of the sentences in that commercial is “There is no one I would rather tell everything to or just sit next to-for the one who is my best friend and forever love.” Jesus is my best friend and my forever love. Shouldn’t I also say, “There is no one I would rather tell everything to or just sit beside”!!
2. Remember that feeling of love so wonderful that all you think about or talk about is the one you love? Yeah, well; the greatest love you will ever know is found in Jesus. Why wouldn’t He be the one you can’t stop talking about every day.
3. When you realize your purpose, it shifts your focus off of your own “lack of things you want” to seeing all the wonder and awe of “what you have been given.” This automatically transforms how you see life. Life becomes filled with joy, hope and beauty as your focus is shifted and your view transformed. Like magic, “poof”; God transforms your sorrow into joy, your discontent into awe, and your brokenness into love. Okay,that magic may take a little longer sometimes; but, compared to eternity it is but a split second in time. Suddenly you awaken and realize: “Wow, I awoke with joy, hope and peace. Where did that come from? Oh, yeah–that is Christ in me, praise God!!”
4. Your view of trials are changed from “chains” to “opportunities”. You can see the trials in your life as opportunities to grow closer to Christ and as tools that God uses to spread the Gospel. As we realize our purpose is to grow closer to Him and to spread the gospel of Christ, we begin to trust God with the details of our life.
[bctt tweet=”As we recognize our purpose in life, purpose transforms our actions, & we find joy.”] [bctt tweet=”Our first purpose in life is to grow closer to our truest love and best friend-Jesus. “][bctt tweet=”Then our second purpose is to spread the truth of the gospel to all we meet.”]
The song I chose for you today is a child’s song; but, listen closely and in that heart of a child I hope you sing it back to God. Gift to You
Original picture courtesy of https://unsplash.com/drewpatrickmiller The quote I added.
New King James Version(NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.