Our purpose in life

“In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith.”

– Wikipedia entry for “Christian Ministry” –

A while back, I came to learn that one aspect of my ministry which has been a central part of my life for the past few years might soon be taken away from me. And I got worried. I worried that I’d feel lost with it gone. I worried that I’d lose my sense of purpose. Then I figured, if God is taking away something which is already bringing Him glory, then He must have something bigger in store.

Well, a couple of days ago, it dawned on me that, yes, God may indeed have something bigger in store for my life (in fact, I’m sure of it), but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a bigger ministry. Our purpose in life cannot be tied up with a particular ministry that we do (however good and essential it might be). Our purpose in life is to know God, seek God, and love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind (Luke 10:27). No matter what we have or what we lose, that purpose shouldn’t change. And it’s the only purpose that we need to give our lives meaning.

Some people have spoken about the emptiness of a life without a purpose, and others have spoken about trying to find fulfilment in their families, in their careers, or in the pursuit of wealth and status. Well, I like something that the Christian writer Donna Partow has written in her book Walking in Total God-Confidence (Bethany House, 1999): “We have a hole in our heart the size of the Grand Canyon, so we hand our husband a bucket and say, ‘Here, you fill it.’ Or we hand it to our church, our friends, or what have you. We fail to realize that filling that hole is something only God can do. And he can only do it if we will let him.”

The Psalmist said, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

Nothing that is taken away from me in this life should make me feel like I’ve lost my purpose in life, if my purpose in life is to know God, to seek Him, and to be in His presence.

.

Photograph (by R Tang): taken in Winterbourne House, University of Birmingham, 2010

Advertisement