“What am I here for?”
If you’re anything like me, I can pretty much guarantee this is a question you’ve asked yourself at least once in your lifetime.
We’ve been discussing in my previousposts why God tasks us with things that He could just do on His own and things that are seemingly beyond our capabilities. I believe another reason He does this is because it’s what we were created to do and in His grace, He gives us purpose for our lives. Pastor Rick Warren, who famously wrote The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For?, says “We are not saved by serving, but we are saved for serving."In other words, our works do not save us, but when we are saved our lives are given a specific purpose by the One who saved us. The Bible is clear that our works are not what saves us. Isaiah says “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags”, making it clear that what we do in no way makes us right with God. Yet, the book of Jamesfamously describes having faith in Jesus, without a response of doing works as “dead.”
So how does this all connect?
Purpose in Grace
God in His infinite grace and perfect love does not allow us to flounder about in life, never knowing our purpose.
The Apostle Paul, makes our purpose very clear “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
We were created to DO good works. That’s what we as His disciples are here on Earth to do.
Each of us has been given a unique gifting with a designed purpose for doing the works of God. We’ve each been saved in order to serve those around us. Christ called each of His disciples to follow Him and charged themwith doing thingsthat He Himself could have donein the blink of an eye, and in that same way He will task us with things to fulfill our purpose here on earth.
A more common way of saying this is we are “Blessed to be a blessing.”
God can accomplish anything He wants without us, but in His grace gives us a chance to fulfill our reason for being created. In this we undeservedly reap a reward of fulfillment for the desire deeply rooted in each of us.
God will, in His grace, give us opportunities and strengthen our faith by placing chances to step out and serve the one who gave up His life for us.
This allows us to respond to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross with gratitude and worship and allows us to fulfill the purpose for which we were created.
These opportunities will look different for me than it will for you or your neighbor. We’re all gifted in different areas that make up the body of Christ. We are all given chances to respond to God and put the proverbial rubber to the road.
My personal journey started with volunteering on the greeter team and over time God gave me more opportunities through joining the communicator team, leading a small group and leading the Grow ministry. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that God would ask me to do the things that He has. But He’s presented the opportunities, called me out and told me “You feed them.”I haven’t always been obedient in response, but when I have, the fulfillment I’ve felt is unrivaled by anything else.
Have you discovered your God-given purpose? Ask God this week to reveal it to you and where He’s calling you to “feed” those in need.
Written By: Cal Renner, Communications Team
