Yesterday morning I was thinking about God's call in my life. I know that call comes with a purpose and plan. I know that I need to start thinking that way, start acting that way, making sure that my life matches His call and purpose.
Lord, I don't know how it looks, ultimately, but I do know that Your plans are perfect, and I want to make sure I am maximised in my fruitfulness. You have put so much into me, and through me, and I want to continue to bear more fruit.
As I think about it, that is supposed to be our reality, fulfilling Your purposes to the best of our ability, because they bring about Your greatest glory and our greatest sanctification (likeness to You), and our greatest fulfillment. That is what we were made for, what is the perfect fulfillment of our life.
It really is somewhat paradoxical, to our human thinking. We would normally think that the only way we can experience perfect happiness and a full life, is to take control ourselves, and do the things we want to do, all the time. The problem is that we are limited in our understanding, our perception is selfish, and we tend to undervalue ourselves, and the value of others. Most of us do not see our importance and significance in the world, and thus our quest for happiness and fulfillment is very localized and selfish, specifically to our own little world.
Those of us who have realized there is more to our lives than us, learning to care for and live our lives thinking of others, seem to have a much richer experience. They know the joy that comes from seeing others blessed and lives made better. They seem to understand that they can have a real impact in their community and embrace that lifestyle, knowing they are giving away some of their selfish pursuits, but gaining more in the end. This is a more joyful and richer experience for the most part.
Finally, there are those who live selfless lives, who seem to rise above their own selfishness and embrace their significance, their ability to make a lasting impact on the lives of those around them, and around the world. These people understand that we are all related, our actions affect each other, and they recognize the greatest joy, the greatest fulfillment for they are living for a greater purpose, and with greater purpose comes greater impact and greater reward.
Our call as Christians, is beyond even that last category, into the Body of Christ. In the Body of Christ we are all significant, each and everyone. Paul understood this and wrote about it in his first letter to the Corinthians. We are all part of the greatest purpose, and our lives have eternal impact. Jesus talks about losing our lives for His sake, and thus finding our true lives - here are His exact words, Matthew 10:39 NIV: "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Viewing these verses from a life calling and purpose perspective gives us different insight. Jesus is talking about sacrifice, but He is talking about sacrificing our selfishness, to find our purpose in Him.
Jesus goes on to say the following, taken from Luke 9:25 NIV: "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?" While He is talking about the sacrifice of our selfishness, for that is what I think taking up our cross daily means, He is really speaking about our significance and value. Look at the valuation in this statement - our soul's value is of greater worth than the whole world. This is the perspective of God! This is how He sees us. I have heard it said that even if it was just for me, Jesus would have hung on the cross and died, and I believe that is true. Not because of anything I have done, but because of His love for me, and the value He puts on my life. Jesus speaks about leaving the 99 sheep to find the one that is lost in Matthew 18:12-13, and the focus of that story is the value of the one. That is how He sees every one of us.
Let's revisit for a moment some of the basic truths we believe about God. He is the creator of all things (John 1:3). He created each of us (Ps 139:13). He is all knowing, and sees everything (1 John 3;20). He lives outside of time and sees and knows everything I will ever do and say and even think (Ps 139: 4,16). He loves us (John 3:16) and has a plan and purpose for us (Jer 29:11). If all this is true, than we can propose that in our creation, in our very inner being God has placed in us a desire and the gifts and talents to fulfill that purpose. We are purposefully and wonderfully made. It is in Him, in our relationship to Him, and His Body, that this purpose is meant to be fulfilled, for that is the way we were created.
Thus, it is in our daily lives of following Him, rather than our own selfish pursuits, that our true purpose and life calling is revealed and fulfilled. We can experience shadows of this in lives without Him, but it is in Christ, united to Him through relationship, connected to His Body that we can find complete fulfillment. It is not just for His sake, but for ours as well, for what person is not happiest when they are doing that which they were created to do! God really is that loving and caring that He would provide the perfect expression, the perfect opportunity to impact our world, and be fulfilled at the same time.
This is the Good News, that we belong, we have significance, we have purpose, we are loved, we are accepted, we are encouraged, we have been given everything necessary to succeed and fulfill our true life's calling and purpose. We have in God one who loves us unconditionally, one who has created us with gifts, talents and abilities, and desire to live out our purpose in fullness. We have one who is always with us, will never forsake us, will always forgive us, will always love us, will always provide for us, will always draw us and accept us. Gos wants relationship with us! God loves us! God really likes us because we are His perfect creation. He has been waiting for us since before the creation of the world.
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