It All Starts with God

I haven't had a chance to blog in awhile, mostly, because life just gets in the way. I'm starting a study called The Purpose Driven Life. While I've been away at college, my church has completed it, and I decided I ought to catch up. It's 40 days of figuring out the meaning of life. Wow! I'm sure excited for that! I plan to write a blog post about what I glean from each day's reading. I find that it's easier to understand and ingrain material into the brain if you write down what you've learned from it. Today is Day One. Section one is called "What on Earth am I Here for?" Chapter one has the same title as my blog post, as will all blog posts throughout the study.

Day One:  It All Starts with God

It isn't about me.

I love to take possession of things. Maybe it's the American materialism in me or maybe it's just human nature, but I love to claim things that I want, to hold them tight to myself, and to use them for my own purposes. It's my life. It's my future. It's my decision. The problem with that mentality is that it stifles any other input. It's like a child with a new toy. He or she enjoys it until someone else tries to give suggestions on how to use it. Does it matter that the other child might have a great idea of how it could be used? No. Does this child think about the fact that he or she might not know everything about it? No. Of course not. To that child, the toy is their own and nobody elses'. We don't fault a child for that, because they don't quite understand the concept yet. But what about us? What about me?

I have always seen my life as my own. I haven't had anyone tell me any different. Even as a Christian for as long as I can remember, I have never quite grasped the idea that I am not my own and that my life is not my own. God is a part of my life, sure, but it was never as if He was the director of my life. After all, we have free will, right? Well, I've been thinking of it incorrectly. Yes, we have free will; however, maybe that free will is to be used to give up the reigns and let God have his way and not to call the shots. God gave us freedom so that we would choose Him and not our own path. He has had our lives planned since before we were even thoughts in our parents' heads. Clearly, He doesn't need us to tell Him what our purpose is, because He had it ready before we existed.

That purpose? That grand plan for our lives? It's bigger than us and our desires. God's plan for our lives is beyond anything we can imagine, and despite our smallness in the scheme of things, our plans affect this world more than we will ever see. We spend so much time planning our moves like they're only affecting us. Wake up call! We affect more than ourselves. It isn't just about our little lives. Of course, each of us matters to God, down to the number of hairs on our heads, but our purpose goes far above our own existence. I need to understand that it isn't about me. The decision to let God lead me doesn't just affect me, and it isn't just about making my life enjoyable for me. It's all about God and what He wants to use me to do for others.

So, how do we know what our purpose is? People spend their entire lives searching, and many give up, because they never feel that they've found the meaning of their lives. Well, the short answer is God. Now, I'm not saying that you say a simple prayer and read a scripture, and God will reveal your future to you. It doesn't work that way in my experience.

But think about it. Let's say you got some nifty contraption for Christmas this year. You have no idea what it's used for or how to use it. Do you mess with it yourself, potentially breaking it or using it much below its potential? Or do you consult the instruction manual, written by the creator who knows every subtle nuance of the machine? The same goes for our lives. We didn't create ourselves, and we have no idea how to correctly reach our full potential. When we try to figure it out alone, we just make a mess of things. It's only when we consult our Creator, God, that we figure out our purpose. And that means letting Him lead us through prayer, fellowship with others who will encourage us in our walks, and meditation on His word, which is our very own instruction manual.

It's isn't about me or you or any individual. Our purpose goes beyond us, it affects more than us, and it can only be found in relationship with our Creator. Find Him, and you will find your purpose.