I don’t think I’m an accident of evolution. When I decided to line my life up with the truth I understand from the Bible, I embraced the idea that I was created for a specific purpose at a particular time. The One who created me, created everything. And when I, along with everyone one of us, separated myself from him, he left his place, became a human, lived life without separating himself from the Father, suffered and died to restore my relationship.
Our purpose defines our job, or our calling. A coffee cup’s purpose is for holding hot liquid. We can put other things in it, or do other things with it, but in the end, it has a primary purpose. Many have handles or are insulated and are made to withstand heat. The purpose informs the design and the design presents clues about the purpose. Purpose and design are connected.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NASB
God created you and the good works. He has a work for you, and me. But it’s not clear because we live in a fallen world. When our ancestors committed the first act of rebellion against the Creator, the world was changed. Everything changed. We and our world were separated from him. We discover him, our purpose and our greatest joy with great difficulty. In fact, were it not for our Creator’s common unmerited favor, we wouldn’t find him, or our purpose at all. Discovering our purpose is work.
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do it, because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Howard Thurman
What makes you come alive? Where do your greatest joys meet your greatest abilities? There are a number of things you can do to discover your design and your purpose.
Fall madly in love with Jesus and do whatever you want! Erwin McManus
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45 NASB
As we get to know Jesus, we realize some of what he did for us and we want to emulate him. We want to do what he did. And he served other people. The Greek word most often translated service is also translated by the word “minister.” You are called to be a minister. Not someone who runs a church or someone who preaches on Sunday. We’ve lost the idea of minister in how the local church is organized.
We can minister wherever we are, doing whatever we’re doing. I like to think that my permanent job is to help people move one notch closer to Jesus. I have a temporary job, that I’ll either leave or retire from one day, but my permanent position is minister. When I meet someone who doesn’t know Jesus, I want to make an introduction. For others who know him, but are trying to live life like most of us in the workplace, I want to help them move one notch from where they are. To me, the job of a minister is to help people move one notch closer to Jesus. And I have that job regardless of my economic or political situation.
As someone who helps people move one notch closer to Jesus, how can I help you?
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