“Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” Psalms 100:3 NKJV
Have you heard the popular story about the eagle that was raised among chicks? It was bred like a chick and it grew up believing that it was in fact, a chick until one day when he saw an eagle like him, soaring in the sky. That was the moment it dawned on him that he was made for more.
One thing that we can see at the core of every creation is intent. There is an intelligence and purpose behind everything that was created. God is so meticulous with His creations, so much so that the earth is said to be positioned in the perfect dimension in the solar system where it is neither too hot nor too cold. It revolves around the sun at the perfect speed in such a way that humans cannot even notice the movements.
How can it be that the same God who intentionally designed every other creation with a clear purpose, created you with no purpose? It is not possible. Not only did God create you intentionally, He determines what your life’s purpose is (Revelation 4:11, Colossians 1:16-17). Purpose is therefore not determined by the “purposed”. Like our anchor text emphasises, it is God who made us and not we, ourselves. Hence, we must turn to the designer in order to live by design.
Purpose can be defined as ‘that one thing for which you were created and at which you must succeed at, otherwise nothing else which you succeed at will count’. It is the entire reason for one’s existence. From this definition, it goes without saying that purpose is not our careers, as purpose must be something that will count even after this present world (2 Corinthians 5:15). When we see Jesus, it wouldn’t matter what career paths we had chosen while on earth.
Purpose is also not happiness because like we see in the example of Jesus, purpose will demand from us, it will require sacrifice (Hebrews 12:2). Happiness in purpose is often from the fulfillment of knowing that we have obeyed God. If you chase after happiness, you will not fulfill purpose.
Purpose is not unique to each person. Mankind came about from one man; hence God’s purpose for creating the first man remains His purpose for all other offspring of the first man.
In 2 Corinthians 5:15, the Bible instructs us to live for the One who died for us. This is the true meaning of purpose. Every human being was designed by God to know Christ and to make Christ known. Every other thing we do on Earth will not matter in eternity if we do not succeed at this one thing.
Dear believer, if your life will count for something, you must follow God and partner in His salvation plan by proclaiming the Gospel to the lost. This is the whole essence of our existence.
Bible Reading Plan: 1 Chronicles 26-29; Psalm 127