What is your purpose?
My dad has something incredible he is going to be sharing with Apostolic churches. Through all of his studying in preparation for this, he has grown exceedingly. While we were in the mountains for Thanksgiving, he encouraged me to write on purpose, a topic related to his study.
What is purpose?
Knowing what your purpose is, is one of the key components in understanding who you are and what you need to do in your life.
Oxford Languages describes purpose as “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.” Okay, so let’s recreate this by saying, “What is the reason for which YOU were created?”
We go to work, come home, eat dinner, and go to bed. On Sundays and midweek we are at church. We clean the house. Pray during pre-service prayer. Drop the kids off for school. Go grocery shopping. Routine. Routine. Routine. Surely we were created for more than everyday routine.
An example of purpose.
Let’s take a look at when Jesus first met Mary and Martha, two sisters who had two different ways of serving.
Luke 10:38-42 says, “38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
There are so many things that need to be done. At home, at church, at work. But have we become so busy with our to-do list that we have forgotten about our true purpose?
I believe we tend to be a lot like Martha. When Jesus comes knocking on our front door, we want everything to be in tip top condition. No dust mites lingering under the couch. That family recipe prepared on the table. No water bottles lying around. Pillows nicely fluffed. Everything in its place.
We have worked our fingers to the bone trying to make a perfect presentation. But is that our purpose? What we were created to do?
We then look and see Sis. So-and-so praying at the altar. “After all this work I’ve done for You, Lord, and she hasn’t even helped!” We get upset over things that are minute. Jesus treasures that special time with Sis. So-and-so.
Mary and Sis. So-and-so understood that when Jesus is in the room, that is where our attention lies. There is a time to prepare and a time to worship.
Jesus was telling Martha that she was getting so worked up about the little things when she should have been focused on Him.
I want my focus to be on King Jesus.
Worship like Mary.
I came across a Facebook post the other day that First Apostolic Church of Maryville posted that said, “The only gift that we can give God that He doesn’t already have is our worship.” I stopped and thought about it. God is the Creator of everything. He literally has everything He could possibly want at the mention of a word. Except He gave us free will which means the only thing He doesn’t have is our worship.
That left me astonished. The one thing He wants more than anything, is something we have to freely give. Jesus could have forced us to love Him, to worship Him. Instead He gave us the freedom to choose what side of the fence we wanted to be on.
He is looking for that precious soul that is in love with Him, like Mary was.
How do we become like Mary?
As a Christian, I am sure you love Jesus. Are we in love with Him though? Or just the idea of having a Savior. You see, Mary was a Christian. A follower of Jesus. She displayed this so clearly in Luke 10:39. It says she “sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His word.” Are we finding ourselves at His feet? Or are we too busy staring at a screen 24/7 checking out what that woman you don’t even know did today? To hear Jesus, you have to be at His feet. Disconnected from the rest of the world, worries of wiping off the counters and fluffing the pillows out of our minds.
When I picture Mary at Jesus’ feet, I see a young lady mesmerized with every word that came out of His mouth. In awe that her God sat before her. That’s how we should be when Jesus is in the room.
His purpose > our purpose
What is God’s purpose? That’s a strange question. God has a purpose for everything and everyone. Even when we can’t see it. Matthew 6:10 says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Will and purpose go hand-in-hand. When we follow His will, we are pursuing His purpose.
When we discover what His purpose is and seek to follow it, it becomes our purpose.
John 4:23 says, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
I worship You, Jesus! I adore You! You are everlasting, holy, and perfect in all Your ways!
If you are searching for your purpose, this is where you start. God is our center, our Creator. When we worship Him, we grow in Him, and in Him is where we find our purpose.
Have a happy and blessed day!
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