Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 1.2
Life is a journey. We had no choice when the journey began, and we have no clue when the journey will end. While we were not responsible for the beginning of our journey, we will be held accountable for how it ends. If we will finish strong, we need a new perspective, a purpose to pursue and an end goal in mind.
Everyone will end up somewhere. But only a few will end up somewhere on purpose. When the purpose of a thing is unknown, abuse and neglect will be inevitable. When we don’t know God’s purpose for our lives nor why He has entrusted us with the time, talents and resources, we will continue to waste our lives chasing after what’s temporal and fading instead of laying hold of what will last for eternity.
An external assessment of one’s life grossly does not determine if our lives are purpose-driven or not. A better measure would be listening to what we say and watching what we do, and hopefully our priorities and values will indicate who we are, why we are here, and where we’re headed. What are my priorities in this life?
Everyone has a God-given purpose. The only problem is, few have discovered it and only a handful are pursuing it with full focus. Life doesn’t begin at forty or even at birth and has no meaning until we experience the abundant life Jesus promises. Only when we discover who God is, who we are, and why we’ve been sent to earth and also when our lives align with His will and purpose.
Sadly, many of us never get to discover who we are and why we are here; life seems to be wasted on a fruitless and exhausting journey without a pursuit of God and His purpose. There are those who have ticked all the boxes: a degree from a prestigious university, a high-flying career, married to the love of their lives, cute and intelligent children, retirement savings and lucrative investments and they are just waiting until their heart stops beating. However, few are experiencing the abundant life Jesus came to give because they haven’t discovered God’s purpose.
How do we discover God’s purpose? How do our lives become purpose-driven? The first step is to have a personal and functional relationship with God. It is not synonymous with the attendance of several church events or acting with so much piety, but by surrendering our hearts to be led by God’s Spirit. I have been crucified with Christ, it’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2.20).
Then, your relationship with God takes you on a journey of self-discovery as you find out who you are, why you are here, and where you are going. Our world is chock full of so many troubles and chaos because there are lots of people moving around with no purpose and direction. They neither acknowledge God as their beginning and end nor have they answered these foundational but important questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?
God doesn’t waste any life or opportunity. If He invests in everything, there must be a purpose to be achieved. Since we were made in the image and likeness of God, everything about us must be purpose-driven. We can’t just do whatever we want because we feel like doing it or everyone else is doing it. We can’t be sitting on our hands waiting for life to happen. We must live for heaven’s applause and ensure that our waking moments count for eternity.
A purpose-driven life is a life with a different perspective, constantly asking God: What do you want me to do? God, I don’t want to go anywhere that you are not leading me. I don’t want to be a part of anything that is not a part of your plan for me. I don’t want to chase things or people that shouldn’t be in my life. Few are concerned about God’s plan; rather, they feel in a race against time, keeping up with appearances while attempting to impress people who care less about them.
Your arrival on Earth was God’s solution to a specific problem. Our world continues to grapple with so much chaos and confusion because the people ordained to solve certain problems never made it to the delivery room. Some have been distracted or derailed by the enemy, and many have not bothered to discover God’s assignment for them. God has deposited so many gifts in us, but it’s our responsibility to develop them and to be a blessing to this world as we serve others and bring God glory.
There are many people going around with no purpose and direction. And they keep on having a damaging and destructive impact on those who know where they are headed. There will be no tangible fruits until we’re free: free from your ignorance, free from wrong associations, free from cycles of sin and ungodliness, free from journeys devoid of God’s approval, free from people-pleasing, and free from our self-limitations.
Something happens when you realise that you have been wasting your life on the wrong things or with the wrong people, spending all the time and effort climbing a ladder that’s leaning on the wrong wall. None of us has an idea about how much time we have left on earth. Hence, there’s an urgency to discover why we are here and pursue God’s purpose with full focus until he returns. What are you living for? For me, to live is Christ.