What is the purpose of your life?

Seriously, I want to know. But more importantly, I want YOU to know.

Too many of us float through life… and that’s NOT a good plan. Take this quick self-assessment… do you…

Feel like circumstances are determining your course of life?
Live day to day without much of a plan for what YOU are all about?
Feeling directionless?

If you answered “YES” to any or all of these, you are probably floating through life. I know because I did it for quite a while myself. If it weren’t for the LORD graciously giving me a wife who wouldn’t settle for it, I’d still be there. Maybe I can serve you in the same way she served me… by giving you a push in a more purposeful direction.

Nothing special about me

I’m no different than you. I wasn’t born knowing why I am here. I’ve struggled to answer the question for myself. But there are some very simple, easy-to-understand facts that the LORD has shown me over the years that have stoked my eagerness to find the purpose of my life. I’ll list them in a way that applies to you:

God makes no mistakes… and He put you on this planet.
God does not do random. That means you are here for a purpose – God’s purpose.
So it makes sense for you to spend some time figuring out His purpose for your life.

I can’t tell you God’s purpose for your life… at least not entirely. But I can tell you one thing I know for certain…

If you are a parent… part of God’s purpose for you is to be radically in love with Him, and to pass that faith along to your children.

Here’s the story of how God revealed that truth to me…

One of the only “words from the Lord” I’ve ever received

When Mindi and I first married, I knew that I wanted my life to matter for the sake of Jesus, but I didn’t know much about how to put that desire into action. But I had to do something, so I did. I pursued a youth ministry degree at Colorado Christian University. I graduated and immediately set about lo0king for a full time youth pastor gig. My assumption was that I’d settle down with my new bride, and that would be that. But God had another purpose for my life… and it had little to do with my career path. Through a series of painful disappointments I came to see that.

I’ll never forget the most difficult of those disappointments. I was in the final stages of interviewing with the very church where I’d served as part time Jr. High Director for 3 1/2 years. They were needing a full time Directory of Student Ministries and it was down to me and one other guy, a guy nobody in the church even knew. I was certain it was God’s plan for me to have the job. It seemed obvious.

I knew when the search team would be meeting for the final time to make their decision, and I was at home, eagerly awaiting their call that evening. I was with my wife, 2 1/2 year old son, and baby daughter. We were all eager to get the good news so that we could begin making plans.

Around 9:30 in the evening, the phone rang. It was the mother of one of my Jr. High students. She had served on the search team and was calling with the news. They chose the other guy.

I was devastated.

After the initial shock wore off, I left my wife crying in the living room as I went out for a walk in the dark. I didn’t understand why God would allow me to go through so many of these experiences (this was the 3rd situation where I was one of 2 final candidates). I was sure my heart was right, that I was pure in my motives, and yet this kept happening. How could the LORD do this?

I’m embarrassed to say it, but I threw a temper tantrum that night. Walking around the neighborhood I screamed and yelled – at God. My disappointment and pain were greater than I had ever experienced, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I don’t know how long it was before the chilly Colorado air began to numb my fingers, but that’s about when I ran out of steam and decided to head home. As I turned the corner toward our house, it happened. The LORD spoke to me – clearly – unmistakeably.

photo – tableatny on flickr

“It’s not about you. It’s about your son.”

Those words broke through my pain… and I clearly saw a reality I’d not seen before. As a Christian man, a Christian father, I bear an incredible weight of responsibility. I am the head of my home. On a very significant level I am responsible before God for the spiritual vitality of every person in my family. The purpose of my life is not about the job I have, or the car I drive, or the money in my bank account, or the success and praise I may achieve or receive. My purpose in life is to radically love and serve my Savior, and to establish a home where my children’s hearts are developed to do the same.