No matter how hard you try, you can never discover your purpose without Christ. You did not create yourself, God created you.
Jeremiah 1: 5: "Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that's what I had in mind for you."
He made each and every one of us different. God did not make one person better than another, he made us different. I have always struggled with this meaning of “different,” and never truly believed He made us all equal and loved us all the same! Honestly, how could God love us all the same?
I am not a mother so I cannot comprehend how you love all of your kids the same. Lets face it, there is always the “perfect” child and then we have the “not so perfect” child. In my family, Rebecca (my 19 year old sister) is the perfect child. I honestly cannot say one negative thing about my sister, I am convinced God made her without flaw! How could my parents possibly love me as much as they love her? She has a positive attitude about everything, an endless number of friends, Varsity Cheer captain, Kiowa Princess at Kanakuk, Prom Queen… Should I continue? But to my parents, Rebecca and I are equals. I guarantee if you asked Rebecca to compare the two of us, she would have a list of reasons why my parents should love me more than her.
When we are seeking our own happiness and trying to find our purpose without Christ, we will always notice our own imperfections. But just as my parents believe Rebecca and I are equally “perfect” (this “perfect” is a very relative term) God made each of us equal and we were made perfectly in his image!
Psalm 139:13-14: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
*I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 12. This chapter talks about different spiritual gifts and why one is no better than the other.*
But back to our purpose, life will never make since until we understand that we were made by God and for God! In The Purpose Driven Life, Warren talks about different “self help books” that suggest ways to discover, your life purpose form a self-centered viewpoint. Warren shares that many of these books are more “How to be successful” guides. “Being successful and filling your life’s purpose are NOT AT ALL the same issue!”-Rick Warren. WOW… What an AHH HAA moment I had reading that statement! The world has such a skewed view of success. If I make enough money to buy a drive a nice car, if I wear a size 2, if I become the President of some big company…. Then to the world, “I am successful.”
Matthew 16:25: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” Day 1- True Success= Fulfilling Christ’s purpose for my life- to worship Him and share His love!
