Finding Your Purpose (work in progress)

Our meaningless life under the sun (Ecclesiastes)

Apart from God, our lives have no purpose. We're born, go to work, have kids, then die. That's it.

You need purpose to live. (example of Jews moving garbage piles at a concentration camp)

So, what is my purpose?

The heavens declare the glory of God. In fact, that's what all of creation does. Us included. We exist for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God. (reference Westminster shorter catechism)

How do we do that?


1) My existence glorifies God

 In the general sense, God will ultimately be glorified by everything that we do. When all is said and done, even our worst sins will serve to highlight God's untarnished holiness and unfailing grace. This is because God is omniscient and omnipotent. He's sovereign, even over every little floating dust mote. All things will inevitably bring glory to the name of Jesus.

2) My salvation glorifies God

As Christians, God has unique plans for each one of us. These are fulfilled partly through living our lives, our born again hearts constantly pouring out worship to God our Father through our every thought, word, and action.

To put it another way, my justification, my regeneration, and my sanctification all glorify God.



3) Does my lifestyle glorify God?

Universally directed by the Bible.


4) Does my mission glorify God?

God also gives us specific missions - callings, tasks, jobs, relationships, words to give to someone, healing of sicknesses, demons to cast out, and so on. For these, we need to listen to his voice and seek out his will daily, being guided by the Holy Spirit.



It's important to look at these points sequentially. Each one is built on the foundation of the previous. By remembering our role as part of creation, we start with the right perspective and don't lose sight of what's most important as we get into the specifics. By remembering that we natural worshippers because of our renewed hearts, we gain peace and confidence - we know we are living out our primary goal, even if we make mistakes when trying to accomplish our specific callings.