Living a Purposeful life

We all long to live a purposeful life, life with meaning and purpose. Rick Warren wrote a book 'The Purpose Driven Life, with a subtitle, "What on earth am I doing here?" It turned out to be a bestseller because that is the cry of the human heart.

There are many today who are living their lives without purpose. We wake up, maybe go to work or school, come home, go to bed, and then do the same thing again the next day, and the next, and the next, etc. Before you know it, we find ourselves living a routine, but without any real purpose. I am being very simplistic here but you can see how easy it would be to get so caught up in the daily course of living that we just go robot-like through the motions.

The good news is that God wants so much more for us than to simply pass aimlessly through this life. In the book of Ephesians, Paul writes to the Gentiles, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:10-11

Jesus lived His life with a purpose – a very clear one. John 6:38-40, Jesus says “38, For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me. 39, And this is the will of Him who sent me that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40, For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Do you know your Father’s will? It all starts with God. Take time to think deeply. Listen to God and your inner self. Be patient and understand your unique gifts and know the reason why you are here. People often ask, “So what do you want to achieve with your life?” This is not accurate. The right question for us is, “So what does God want you to achieve with your life?” The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment and happiness. It’s far greater than your family, career, and ambitions. God revealed to us, from Scriptures, the grand purpose of our life – to know Him and make Him known.

For some of us, we need to know Him more by spending more time in devotion, prayer, worship, etc. For others, we want to make Him known to those in our homes, offices, school. Make this year a purposeful one. Let God accomplish His will through you. God wants to work through you to bring love back into your home, to bring the good news of Jesus to your colleagues, to restore someone who is grieving or hurting, and give them divine hope and joy. A purposeful life usually benefits others and you will love your life more when you are impacting others. Your purposeful life is your legacy, how you will be remembered. It is you making your mark upon the world for that is what God has called you to do.

Live your life with a divine purpose. Do you have a clear purpose for living in Christ? Perhaps it’s time to perform a “purpose” checkup of your life? Goethe wrote, "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy... Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.... Whatever you can do or dream that you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. It’s never too late, and no time is better than now."

By Hilda Oti