just to let you know, this wasn't written by me, but my Bible teacher:
Everyone is always stressing out on the concept of "the purpose for my life." It"s as if we expect to find a verse in the Bible just for us"a personal outline of our life. Some churches even provide a kind of Christian horoscope: a "this is your life" prediction. And yet, the Bible is full of the admonition that the day that matters is today.
Our purpose is really fairly simple: Be like Dad by imitating the Son through the power of the Spirit. Or as Jesus put it: "Be the light of the world."
The person who most clearly reflects that truth in my life"if you don"t mind my getting personal"is my mom. At the age of 89, she keeps living her life, one day at a time, pleasing her Savior. Though Dad is Home, and she would love to be there with him, she walks each day relying on her Savior"s love and strength. And she enjoys each day that the Lord has made.
And she has always been that way. Her great gift is the gift of evangelism. Put her on a plane, it"s a guarantee that whoever God places next to her will know about Jesus before the plane sets down. Were there kids in the neighborhood? She had her flannel graph out, telling them all Bible stories, pointing the way to the cross. When Mom and Pop moved to South Carolina, they found out that they had rental property next store. And though that may not have pleased them, and though they have had all kinds of people in the house, all of them heard about Jesus Christ and His work of forgiveness. She can take any topic and lead the conversation to her Lord and Savior. And no one is ever offended by it. They sense the presence of God"s love.
Mom knows what her purpose is"and has always known: Let the world see Jesus today. She knows what the "meaning of life" really is. She never ran a business, just a Christ-centered home as the helpmeet to her husband. She never went to college and earned a teaching certificate, but she has taught children about Jesus better than most teachers have taught whatever subject they tried to teach. She never had a "Billy Graham" crusade, but heaven will have a great number of people there because of her faithful testimony to Jesus"and because of the faithful testimony of others who found out about the cross through her sharing of the word with them.
I hope I can be as faithful. I know Mom and Pop taught me early on what the meaning of life really was, what my purpose was on this sin-marred earth. Be like Jesus every day. Share your faith as God gives you opportunity. Don"t be turned away from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." I don"t know when her Lord will take Mom Home. But I don"t think it will be real soon. As my brother-in-law recently said: "She can"t go Home yet; someone new just rented the house next door."
www.cobg.org
Purpose
