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Chapter 1—It All Starts with God (pages 17-21)
Summary
One’s purpose in life is not about himself. His purpose in life exceeds his personal wants and needs, his family, his career and anything else relative to his life. One must turn to God, his Creator, to know his purpose. Why? It is because God created everyone “on purpose” and “for a purpose.”
The reason many cannot find their purpose in life is because they start at the wrong entry point by focusing on their own self-centered concerns, such as their needs, goals, dreams, life-direction and ambitions. This focus cannot and will not reveal their purpose in life.
The only way one may know of his purpose in life is to inquire of the One who created and gave him life. One must begin with God, his Creator; and since there is an “owner’s manual” penned by God applicable to everyone on earth, one’s purpose is discernable in this manual. If one will study the Bible, he will discover that he was “made by God and for God. Until this is understood, life will never make sense or bring complete satisfaction to the person. Only in this may one ascertain his origin, his identity, his importance, his purpose and his destiny. Any other investigative path leads to emptiness, to depression and to a dead end.
Many attempt to use God for their own self-conceived purpose, which is a self-centered approach. This is a reversal of God’s blueprint for one’s life. Many self-help books use this approach by stipulating various steps one must follow in order to achieve success in life, to reach one’s personal goals. And by following such steps one may indeed be successful, but being successful and fulfilling one’s purpose in life are not the same issue. One may be successful in the sight of man and according to his standards, while becoming a complete failure to God and to himself.
There are two options one may take in attempting to find his purpose in life, one is by speculation, the common but defective choice; and the other is by revelation, the uncommon and correct choice. God, the Creator, has not left man to speculate on such an important matter as his purpose or reason for living. God gave to man His Holy and Infallible Word, as an “owner’s manual” on all the important questions of life. To know one’s purpose in life, information that cannot be obtained from the world’s wisdom (philosophy, psychology, self-motivation anecdotes), one must turn to eternal truths recorded in the Bible.
The Bible is very clear regarding the reason and purpose for everyone’s life. In Ephesians 1:11 the following truths regarding every human being is clear, as follow:
Without God in one’s life, a state that may only exist when one becomes united with Jesus Christ through faith, life will never make sense and fulfillment can never be achieved by him.
Quotes
“It’s not about you.” (pg. 17)
“You were made by God and for God—and until you understand that, life will never make sense.” (pg. 18)
“But being successful and fulfilling your life’s purpose are not at all the same issue!” (pg. 19)
“How, then, do you discover the purpose you were created for? You have only two options. Your first option is speculation. . . . Fortunately, there is an alternative to speculation about the meaning and purpose of life. It’s revelation.” (pgs. 19, 20)
“To discover your purpose in life you must turn to God’s Word, not the world’s wisdom. You must build your life on eternal truths, not pop-psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories.” (pg. 20)
Scriptures
For by Him [Christ] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)
In whose [God’s] hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? (Job 12:10)
For to be carnally minded [self-centered] is death, but to be spiritually minded [God-centered] is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)
For whoever desires to save his life [man’s way] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake [God’s way] will find it. (Matthew 16:25)
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory. (1 Corinthians 2:7)
In Him [Christ] also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined [determined by God before time] according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will [God’s master plan], that we who first trusted in Christ should be [live for the purpose] to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:11, 12)
Conclusion/Comments
One’s purpose in life must begin and end in God. To learn this avenue to fulfillment in life, one must go to God’s Word, the Bible. Only there will a person come to the understanding that God has specifically designed and planned him before the creation of time, that God specifically created him into a unique one-of-a-kind person, and God has intended him for a specific purpose in life in accordance with God’s master plan and for which no one else may accomplish. Only when a person comes to this understanding can he reach and enjoy a fulfilling and completely satisfying life. To miss this is to end up in depression, with emptiness and fruitlessness, and in a most agonizing death.
The beginning point must be in the establishment of a proper relationship with God’s only begotten (most unique) Son, Jesus Christ. This relationship may only be established when one, who understands that he is a sinner and in need of salvation, turns in full and genuine confidence (trust, faith) to Jesus Christ from any other confidence (trust in any other person, work, establishment or idea), for his personal salvation. Once he obtains salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, he then needs only to go to God’s Owner’s Manual (the Bible) for his life in order to ascertain God’s purpose and plan for his life. And when this is done, he will discover that God made him a truly unique person for a truly unique and specific purpose in life, and that by fulfilling this end he will enjoy the peace and joy which God intends for him and has made available for every living human being upon earth. |