Have you ever asked yourself that question? I have. And I’ve had the privilege of posing this question to thousands of Christ-followers around the world. The most common response is deep, thoughtful stares.
Another way of asking the question is, “What is your deepest purpose in life?” This elicits a few more responses – often in the form of questions. “To love and care for my family?” “To make a difference in the world?” “To serve God?”
All are good answers that no one would argue with. At the same time, the Bible is clear – all creation exists to glorify God, and God placed man at the pinnacle of creation to reflect His nature and attributes in totally unique ways. Man wrecked this when Adam sinned – separating us from God. But Jesus’ perfect life and sinless death restores relationship with God for any/all who believe and receive Him. All who receive Christ are tasked with bringing this Gospel to others (Matthew 28:19-20) as His “ministers of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18-20).
I realized early in my career I wasn’t doing this at all, especially at work in the dog-eat-dog tech world. I hid my faith, blending in – and felt enormous guilt doing so. Christ’s words, “If you deny Me before men, I will deny you before my Father” rang through my mind. My attempts to “bring my faith to work” failed miserably, and my guilt grew. At age 28, the Lord intervened, giving me a taste of what I was missing and how I might instead live. It was incredibly simple and, at the same time, daunting! Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
That I should NEVER hide my faith was both clear and scary! I sure didn’t know anyone else living this way. I prayed, “Ok, Lord – I’ll do this. But do WHAT? I don’t know where to start! I could lose my job, and the BEST of my “good works” would turn people AWAY from you!” The Lord led me to 1 Cor 2:1-5. “And when I first came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words, of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
The great Apostle Paul felt weak and fearful, even trembling - like me! He determined to speak only of Christ and His painful death for us, demonstrating Christ’s life by the Holy Spirit’s power. The Lord showed me both the “what” and the “how” that fall of 1987.
I’ve been on a beautiful, breathtaking journey with Jesus since. He’s granted me amazing favor, blessed my work, brought significant success and used me to bring His light/life to others around the world.
I believe we have two most precious possessions this side of heaven. 1) Our eternal life bought with the blood of Christ. It can never be lost by us or stolen from us (John 10:28). 2) Our purpose as reflectors of Christ; His ministers of reconciliation to our dying world. No matter our job, role in life, social status or life-circumstance, our purpose remains, and this purpose CAN and for many, HAS been stolen!
Living on purpose requires surrendering the entirety of our lives to Christ, then being empowered by the Holy Spirit. I believe this most effectively happens in discipling communities focused on scriptural truth in concert with whole-life surrender to Christ, hence my calling to Marketplace-Impact. I pray that the Lord raises many in coming years to Live on Purpose for Him. Contact us at info@marketplace-impact.com if you’d like to learn more. We’d love to connect with you!