Have you ever thought what your purpose is here on Earth?  As I have gotten older, I think about this more often and I wonder if I am fulfilling the purpose(s) God sent me here to accomplish.  When I think back to Biblical times, it seems the people we read about were given definitive purposes.  Adam and Eve were chosen to be the first people on Earth, Abraham was chosen to be the father of many nations, Noah was chosen to perpetuate the human race after all others perished in the flood and of course Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus.  These seemingly simple people were given monumental tasks which left them frightened and skeptical.  Yet, they obeyed God and accepted the roles they were asked to carry out and in so doing, changed the world.

Some of you have read Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life.  This book was intended for a 40-day, daily devotional which each chapter ending with a point to ponder for the day.  The book focused on the idea “It’s not about you”.  In fact, those were the first words of the book and the remainder of each chapter went on to explain how the search for personal fulfillment, satisfaction, and meaning can only be found in understanding what God placed you on Earth to do.  There were six major sections of the book. 1. What on Earth am I here for? 2. You were planned for God’s pleasure, 3. You were formed for God’s family, 4. You were created to become like Christ, 5. You were shaped for serving God,  6. You were made for a mission.  

We don’t come into the world knowing what that mission is.  I think for the most part, our purpose here on Earth is not so cut and dried. Although it does happen, most of us don’t receive direct messages from angels or from God himself telling us what our purpose is here in this world.  We are mostly led by God as he works through us by worldly means and we should work in the same way to both effect our salvation and to bring about the kingdom of heaven on earth. We can do this by acting charitably and loving our fellow man and just generally, obeying God’s law.  It may not always be clear exactly what we need to do, but we almost always know when we aren’t doing the will of God.  I remember telling my daughter before she went to college, if your gut (conscience) doesn’t feel right, you shouldn’t be doing whatever it is you’re doing.  She listened to her “gut” about as well as I did at the same age…not so much.

We are not all destined to do the “big jobs” like the Biblical folks I mentioned earlier, or something heroic like saving someone’s life, or becoming a famous musician or sports figure.  We may not know what our purpose is, but God refines us in ways we might not have wanted because he needs to use us in ways we might not have thought. With the knowledge of God’s unconditional love, we know he will lead us to what our mission here on Earth might be.  We just have to listen to our gut, obey God’s law and he will lead us to His purpose.  Remember, it is not about you.

Patty