Purpose

Today’s a new day! We all need purpose; it tells us who we are and how we’re to live. Purpose propels us, gives our lives meaning, and shapes our decisions. Living with purpose is important. As a young man, I longed to know what my purpose was, who God created me to be. So, I read the books, did the Bible studies, men’s events and the different retreats. Unfortunately, I wasn’t learning very much about who I was created to be. Instead, I was absorbing a lot about what I was supposed to do.

Have you ever felt that? That our purpose depends upon doing more or trying harder? Have you ever felt like you had to exhaust yourself to do all the right things and check all the right boxes to succeed at being a godly person? If you have, the good news is you’re not alone. The better news is there’s hope.

God’s purpose for us is not to work hard trying to measure up. It’s not to burn ourselves out trying to do more in hopes that one day we’ll have done enough. God doesn’t have a checklist for us, and we don’t have to earn more of his love. Our purpose is not even about us at all; it’s about Him. God created us to be image-bearers of himself, and that is the highest purpose of them all.

To be made in the image of God means that he created us with infinite value, dignity, and worth. It means we are his reflections on this earth. He made us to represent him, to display his character, and to fill the earth with his glory; he created us to be imitators of him. But here’s the important part: being made in the image of God is not something we do or earn or even have to work at. It is simply what God has declared to be best.

I don’t know about you, but I have spent so much of my life trying to do enough. But the truth is, our purpose isn’t about what we do-it’s about who God is. Before we did anything, before we earned it in any way, apart from any abilities or actions, God created us as his images on the earth. And though sin damaged our ability to bear his image, in Christ, we are being restored. In him, we can live as the images of God he created us to be. We are exceedingly valuable, not because of what we can bring or contribute, but simply because God has declared that we are. Walk in that truth today. ~OC