My Crash Course in Purpose

“Man, made in the image of God, has a purpose – to be in relationship to God, who is there. Man forgets his purpose and thus he forgets who he is and what life means.” Francis A. Shaeffer

I have talked about my health problems a couple times this last week on my blog, in My Testimony and in my Faith Builders post, which is odd since, after months of blogging, I have barely mentioned my health. But today as I thought about my purpose, lessons I learned from my “sick days” came to mind again.

The quest to find our purpose in life can sometimes dominate our lives. Many people spend a lifetime trying to determine their purpose. But when an illness or crisis hits you early, you get a crash course in the meaning of life.

My illness started at fourteen, but the question of my purpose in life didn’t really come to the forefront until I became much sicker and bedridden at eighteen. By nineteen, when I should have been breaking free from home and breathing my first breaths of independence, the fact that I was dependent on everyone around me became cruelly obvious.

I couldn’t work, go to school or even go to the grocery store. I had people prepare my food, do my laundry and even make my bed. I used to laugh and say, “I just pretend I am a lady of luxury and too wealthy to do such menial tasks for myself.”

But I knew the truth – there is a huge difference between a handicap keeping you from tending to your daily needs and you just being too rich to bother doing it yourself. And I fell into the first category.

With not only my dreams but also my usefulness taken away, I struggled with what the purpose of my life was to be. What could I do? How could I serve God when I couldn’t even leave my room?

Over time God showed me many ways I could serve him, even from my bed – through prayer, writing and Bible Study. I had to do my learning and studying through listening to books and sermons on tape. (I was too weak to read and thus qualified to use audio books from the public library and the Christian Blind Mission’s library.)

I also felt a sense of purpose corresponding with other sick teenagers and encouraging them, and being an emotional and spiritual support to my friends and family. There was actually a lot I could to do contribute to the Kingdom.

But before God revealed all that to me, He showed me that our primary purpose in life is not found in what we do. It is in who we are – children tenderly created and deeply loved, designed to be in relationship with their Creator.

Everyone, whether or not they are physically able to “contribute” to society can fulfill God’s primary purpose for their life.

Some bodies are so disabled that they trap a soul within them without even the ability to move or speak. They may lay lifeless in a hospital room for years, forgotten by the world. But that soul is alive and loved by God, living out a purpose that we can never comprehend.

And for those of us who do have the capacity to seek God, our purpose is in being found by God and finding God, being loved by God and loving Him in return.

The irony is that the things we “do” as we attempt to fulfill our purpose in life can often distract or even blind us from our true purpose of being a child of God and getting to know Him. Instead of searching out our Father and growing close to Him, we toil and play in our temporary home, never fulfilling our ultimate purpose.

God has many important works for us to do with the gifts and opportunities He gives us. There is much work to be done for the Kingdom and we should never waste away the precious hours God gives us on earth to prepare for eternity.

But I believe that, if we never uncover our ultimate purpose and if we neglect to discover our identity and inheritance in Christ, then all we do with our lives will leave us exhausted and still straining for some lasting fulfillment, and tragically missing out on the secret to eternal life.

Dear Father,

Thank you Lord, for creating me, loving me and calling me your child. Forgive me Father for serving myself and working for all the world offers. May I find my true fulfillment and contentment in you and my relationship with you.

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3

Discussion:
Do you find your purpose in things you are doing or in who you are? Do you need to focus more on your relationship with God rather than what you are doing for God.