I’ve been to many meetings and conferences where the issue of purpose in life is been discussed. My attendance at these conferences were the result of the inner struggles of finding answers to the many puzzles of life and with the many alternative that the world present to me. There is always the concern of what to become in life, how to become it, role models to follow after and how to build resources to attain giant strides and carve a niche for one’s self in the society. But with a little effort put into ‘just’ obeying whatever God instructs for life marks the beginning of the journey to fulfilling purpose in life. In one of my writings, A Glorious Start, A Glorious End, I emphasised the glorious start as having found Christ at a point in my life that marks the transformation from darkness to light (glory). This is the pathway to fulfilment in life: accepting the will of God for your life, keying to it and running with whatever vision he gives you thereby. Certainly, without making that ultimate decision to accept the truth of the reality of the existence of the supreme God and believing in His only begotten son, fulfilling purpose is more or less a mirage. Why? Because until you find God and he provides you with a vision (and a provision attached), you have not started that journey of divine purpose.
John 3:18 (MSG) Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
In fact verse 19 of John 3 says the person that does not believe in Jesus is still living in darkness and that’s why many of us have found ourselves in crisis as we journey through in oblivion here on earth.
John 3:19 (MSG) "This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God.
The acceptance of the only begotten son of God comes with unprecedented challenges but in the midst of all is a kind of rest that is indescribable and peace, unusual. It doesn’t require any philosophising or theology its just simple:
Matthew 6:33 (MSG) Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
No one has grasped this truth like Apostle Paul. His autobiography depict a man on a pathway that was adjacently or perpendicular to the will of God for his life.
Philippians 3:4-6 even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: (5) a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; (6) a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting Christians; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book.
But he found Jesus and that changed his trajectory in life.
Philippians 3:7-11 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash--along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. (8) Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ (9) and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ--God's righteousness. (10) I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. (11) If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.
Now is the time for us to long for that divine purpose
There is no other better time to get concerned about what our lives is designed divinely for and not according to what mere men are presenting to us or what they are wanting us to look like. All those life coach, mentors, role models and career teachers are all human and have weaknesses that we need to be careful of. Not that some of them are not correct. The fact is that how many of them direct us to a ultimate destination in Christ where we can tap divine sustainability and not look up to them as god. While we have people we look up to and strive to become like (I have men that I strive to become like too), we should not get locked up and remove our focus from our own divine purpose and programme in life. We are warned of some kind of teachers:
Philippians 3:18-21 There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. (19) But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. (20) But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, (21) who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.
I hope to continue on this series on this blog if permitted. We may need to look into practical examples of those who like Apostle Paul, Jacob, Isaiah who got to a point in their life that transformed them eternally. Just like prophet Isaiah, you may think you are already fulfilling purpose by seeing visions and prophecying yet with unclean lips until that divine encounter in Isaiah 6 that transformed his life for ever: Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. These men played their own path, they keyed themselves to the divine pathway. Not as though I have attained unto perfection (I’m still working out my salvation with fear and trembling Phil 2:12), but having journeyed the way for seven years now and finding rest all round (financially, martially, academically, etc), I want to present you with the opportunity to make that ultimate decision: accept Jesus today and your life will never remain the same.
You may be that one person we are waiting for in our generation as you arise today.