This is a very popular and important topic in Christian circles. Everyone is concerned about identifying their purpose as Christians. The confusion occurs when trying to separate two closely related terms, purpose, and work. In human terms, we often think of these two concepts as being the same. To the Lord, these two terms, purpose and work are not the same. Show More
- In God’s eyes, purpose has to do with how you exist in your relationship with Him which is spiritual. Your purpose is to recognize the Father’s love towards you. The love of God and the grace of God gives you the privilege of walking with God the Father in the position of a son! This is your spiritual purpose.
- Your assignment or the work you do is how you demonstrate your love for the Father. Obedience to the Lord always produces blessing.
God’s love for you is demonstrated by sending Jesus for you. Your reasonable response should be to fulfill His assignment or work out of gratefulness.
It is important to do “first things first”. In other words, to build the foundation before you build the house. The foundation is your relationship with the Lord, the house is the work He has called you to in this life.
Here is a question, as a Christian how do you see yourself?
So much of who we are and what we do is based upon how we see ourselves. If I see myself as the world sees me, then I might not have a very good opinion of myself. As a result, I may make poor choices and decisions because I believe I am not good enough. As a result of this negative view I am unable to see the value the Lord places on me. If I dwell on my past mistakes and sins, then I might be persuaded to try and earn or do things to deserve what the Lord has done for me. In either case, I have the wrong perspective of my relationship with the Lord.
Let me warn you, this is exactly what the Devil wants you to think! Satan wants you to think that you must make yourself worthy of God’s love. This is a trap that many fall into. The Apostle Paul says in
Through Jesus Christ you are loved, forgiven and accepted! You can’t be more loved, or more forgiven or more accepted than you are right now. You did not deserve or earn any of this, but it was purchased for you by Jesus Christ. Remember, you are a son or daughter of the Lord and sons and daughters have a special place and position in the Kingdom of God on earth and in Heaven.
All of this Good News means that when we serve the Lord we do so out of gratitude and joy; not out of fear, guilt or slavery.
Here is a thought, Jesus was sent on a mission by the Father. His mission was to “destroy the works of the Devil (1John 3:8).” We are called to the Great Commission to make disciples. Look at the word commission, it has two parts com- and -mission. The prefix com- means with, together, in association, and completely, and the word mission means “assignment”. Com-mission then means that we are called together with Jesus’ to be a part of His mission, to destroy the works of the enemy of our souls. Ow think about this question, can you do this mission alone in your own strength and ability? Of course not! You and I need the help of Christ working in us through the Holy Spirit to accomplish the mission or assignment. What gives us hope and builds our faith is the knowledge that the Lord loves us!
In a sense God loves us in the same way we love our children. We love our children because they are our children – not because of what they can do for us. If you have a prodigal son or daughter, you understand the unconditional love you have for your children. This is the same Agape or unconditional love the Father has for you.
Certainly, there is a proper place for work, effort, and accomplishment by our children. But those things do not change the value of our children to us. In the same way you will never have confidence in your relationship with God and the assignment He has called you to until you recognize God’s love for you and how much He values you.
Further evidence of your value to God.
Listen to what Peter the Apostle has to say about your value to the Lord in
Then again in one of the most-quoted scriptures of the Bible, we hear the words of Jesus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16,17).
It is clear, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, that the Father’s purposethroughout human history has been to redeem, restore, and reconcile humanity to Himself.
- Redeem means to take back ownership
- Restore means to bring back to original condition
- Reconcile means to make whole the relationship
Now understanding our purpose in Christ settles our eternal destiny, but what about our earthly destiny? How are we to live out our lives here on earth?
From the very beginning, we were created to worship God and have fellowship with Him (Gen3:9,10; Ps 149:4; John 4:23; Rom 12:1).
Our life as Worship
Many Christians look at worship as something separate from everyday life and is done in church. Worship is more than that it is not only music and singing or dancing unto the Lord. More importantly, worship is a lifestyle of commitment to the purposes of God. Romans 12:1 says it best, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service [or worship]”.
Normally something that is sacrificed is dead, but we are called to be living sacrifices. A living sacrifice is one whose self-will has been laid down – and replaced by the desire to do God’s will! Our life lived in sacrifice to God’s purposes is an act of worship to Him. As Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, “not my will but your will be done.” Jesus is our example.
Not only are we called to live a life of worship unto the Lord, but we are also called to fellowship with Him. How amazing that is! Fellowship means that we walk in a close relationship with our Lord, in regular two-way communication with Him. The key to any successful relationship is not just communication but meaningful two-way communication. God speaking to us and we speaking to Him.
That’s all we have time for… until next time.
