Look, Then Leap!

I am becoming more and more aware of how acutely important, even down to a physical and emotional level, purpose is.  You can have money; you can have relationships, but without purpose, life is empty.  Purpose sets the criteria for the day to day decisions we make - how we earn and spend our money, what food we choose to eat, what we do with our free time, what we would do to get free time.  Purpose is that ingredient which, when added to the human spirit, causes growth.  Without it, the soul withers and dies, a slow, painful merciless death.  Some people try to live utilizing other people's purpose.  That can work for a while, but it doesn't have a fulfilling edge.  It leaves one feeling artificial, untrue to the person God meant us to be when He created us.  And when the source of that other purpose is cut off, we 're back to zero, looking again for meaning in life, and answers to questions we've never addressed or asked before.  Don't get me wrong, purpose doesn't need to be a grandiose thing.  It can be as simple as taking care of a child or a sick person, or praying for needs that touch our hearts.  But it has to be genuinely from our hearts.   It has to be the purpose that God made us to fulfill.  When times in our lives create disconnection between us and our purpose circumstantially, the struggle to maintain the integrity of our person is huge.  We see this when people go through transitions such as the loss of a job, or the changing of a career, or a child who leaves home to go out on their own, or the death of a spouse.  Anything that chips away at the underlying foundational purpose of our being causes us to reevaluate how we live, who we are, and what we are doing.  The trick is not to get caught up in the analysis so much that it becomes the center of our activity, and we become paralyzed.  In other words, when purpose changes, look for a while, then leap!  After all, we never get it completely right, no matter how hard we try.  I choose to live believing that God has a purpose for me, even if I can't see it right now.  I invite you to do the same.

Two Conversations

I had two conversations today, each one with old friends. In each conversation we started out talking about the condition the world is in and moved on to the condition of the church. This brought us to some of the reactions that are going around the church to the condition of the world - things like natural disasters, the state of the economy, the breakdown of the family, and the rise of brokenness in our society. I came away from both of these conversations with renewed dedication to principles that have been a part of my Christian walk for a long time. The first principle is that Jesus did not come preaching the gospel of salvation. Instead He came preaching the Kingdom of God. Don't get me wrong. Salvation is vital. Without it you can't even enter in to the Kingdom of God. Without salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit you live in the natural mind and you don't understand the things of God at all. But salvation brings transformation, or rebirth, with a purpose. That purpose is greater than just to keep us from going to hell. That purpose is to establish in us, and eventually in those with whom we have relationship, a new power and vision for life. Salvation gives us eternal life - the life of God Himself. It enables us to be a part of God's process of establishing His Kingdom on the earth. I don't pretend to know all the theology or all the details. I'm still learning after 40 years.




In addition to being transformed by salvation (becoming a new creation) it is a door that leads us into the mind and heart of God. It is there that we are transformed from glory to glory. It is there that our minds are renewed to be like His. It is there that we are empowered to do the things that we've been commissioned to do, such as being light in the darkness and healing the wounds of the broken and sick, and spreading the good news of the Kingdom around the world.



One of my friends is constantly saying, "Prayer is not the destination. It's the path that gets you there." Likewise, salvation is not the destination. It's the first step into the Kingdom of God. The Bible is full of scriptures that stand beneath this truth - Christ in you, the hope of glory. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. You will do greater things than even I (Jesus). Go unto all nations.



One of my favorite scriptures is the Lord's prayer. It actually should be called the disciples' prayer because He gave it to them when they asked Him how to pray. I especially like "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth (not on earth) as it has already been done in Heaven." This scripture tells me I can focus anything and everything I do on carrying out both God's personal will for my life and His more corporate expression for me as part of His church.



The road to greatness is in being a great servant, just like Jesus, who came as a servant for all. It also means that, like Paul said, real life is found in looking out for the interests and needs of others, not just ourselves. That includes the church. If a local church is only concerned in building itself up on money or reputation of any type, the members will find an emptiness in their gathering together that will eventually spell the demise of the church no matter how large or successful it appears to be. On the other hand, one or two people walking along the road who see a wounded man in the ditch and stop and pour oil in his wounds and take him to get medical care and missed a church service in the process will go to sleep that night knowing that they have extended the Kingdom of God just a little bit farther in the earth. Just like we are all sinners saved by grace, we are all Kingdom builders empowered by God's love and mercy in His desire to redeem His creation.



So my two conversations today led me one step closer to the conviction that God is more interested in what we do from our hearts as a response to His salvation than in what we do out of obligation or self interest. Even if we don't gain public recognition, much of what is unseen on earth is applauded in Heaven.