Listen to this passage in God’s Word, “Long before He laid down earth’s foundation, He had us in mind. He had settled on us as the focus of His love to be made whole & holy by His love.” (Ephesians 1:4-5) This verse tells us that long, long ago, even before He created the heavens & the earth, God had mankind in mind.
God, who is love, created us with the sole purpose of being able to focus His love on us, & that we would be His family, adopted sons & daughters through Jesus Christ, our Lord. The Bible also says, “And this was His purpose, that when the time is ripe He will gather us all together from wherever we are in heaven or on earth to be with Him in Christ, forever.” Did you hear that? We’re going to be with God forever. When the time is ripe, when the time of waiting is over, God will come & gather us together. Whether we are in heaven or on earth, He is going to take us to be with Him, forever.
“The purpose of life is to prepare us for eternity.” This life is pre-school. This life is dress rehearsal. This life is a time to get ready because we’re going to live a lot longer on the other side of death than we’re going to live on this side. So the reason we’re alive, the reason God has left us here is to get us ready for eternity. That’s the reason for our existence.
WHAT GOD WANTS US TO DO
There are 4 things that God wants us to do with the years that we have while we’re here. Let me put it this way, “Amongst other things, there are 4 things God wants me to do with my life.
The first one is this. God wants me to get to know Him. That makes sense, doesn’t it? If I’m a part of His family, He is my heavenly Father, and He is the one who created me. He would like me to know Him. What better way to find out about your purpose than to know from your creator? Now, how do you get to know someone? Well, you spend time with them, talk with them, & listen to them. That’s what we must do with God, too. Read His word, pray and listen to Him. The Bible also teaches that I can come to know God by coming to know Jesus. Jesus Himself said, “…when you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” In following Jesus I’m following God. Surrendering your all and accepting Him in your life.
The second thing that God wants me to do is to become like Christ. If I’m a member of His family, & if God is my Father, then I ought to take on family characteristics. Just as children have some of their parents’ traits because they are family, I should exhibit some of the traits of Jesus because we’re family, too. So God is busy trying to form His character in our lives, to make us like Jesus. That has always been His goal. He is molding us to be more like Him. This is a process, it is a journey.
The third thing God wants me to do is to practice being a servant. Why? If we are going to be like Christ, then we need to be servants like He was. The most Christ-like picture, the best model of being Christ-like you will find in Scripture is of Jesus putting the towel around His waist & washing the feet of the Apostles.
Do you remember Mother Teresa? She was old & bent. Living in the slums of Calcutta, India, she spent her time working among the diseased & dying people who crowded into her makeshift wards every day. She gave her all to the people of India and made a huge impact in the lives of many. Now friends, that’s the secret of contentment in life. When we give ourselves away we find out what life is really all about. Christ died for our sins, so that we may live eternally with our Father in heaven. Who are you living for?
Finally, there is one more thing that God wants me to do – that is to share my life’s purpose with others. Why does God keep me around? Because the only plan that God has for telling others about His purpose is for those who have found the purpose to share it. The Bible says, “God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, & He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” God has no other plan than that. So once I understand what life is all about, that this is preparation for eternity, God wants me to tell as many other people as I can.
Poem: An old man, traveling alone on a highway. Came at the evening cold & gray
To a chasm deep & wide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
For the sullen stream held no fears for him,
But he turned when he reached the other side,
And began building a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” cried a fellow pilgrim near,
“You’re wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the close of day,
And you never again will pass this way.
You have crossed the chasm deep & wide.
Why build you a bridge at eventide?”
And the builder raised his old gray head:
“Good friend, on the path I have come,” he said,
“There follows after me today
A youth whose feet will pass this way.
This stream, which has been as nothing to me,
To that young boy a pitfall may be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim -
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.”
(W.A. Dromgoole)
