"And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
Luke 9:23-25
Every human soul cries out for purpose. We all want to know that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and to find out what that something is. There's an old saying by Mark Twain that goes like this: "The two most important dates in our life are the day we are born and the day we find out why." Obviously day one is already fulfilled for all of us, but the big challenge for many is to find out what day two is for them.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." God has a plan for all of us and it's a wonderful and amazing plan that involves hope, wellbeing and a bright future. But how do we know what our purpose is and where do we find it?
We all know our purpose lies in our Creator - our Father who brought us into being - but many times it feels like there is an immeasurable gap between our Creator and us and we don't know how to get to Him.
Our only way to the Father and consequently the only way to our purpose comes through no other way except Christ. In John 14:6, we read: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
When we come to Christ and start following Him, we gain access to the Father and as we come to the Father, He reveals to us the reason for our existence.
Our greatest purpose lies only in realising why we were made and for what purpose. Sure we can find out what we're good at and maximise it, but there are so many people today that are doing things well but are still empty inside. That's because purpose has more to do that who we do it for rather than what we do.
Purpose is a journey, but a journey is only as good as the destination that we strive for. A journey without a destination is pointless. For followers of Christ, we know where our destination lies - it is where the Father lies and everything we do between this time and that time is simply a reflection of the hope we have that is given through the cross of Christ.
Without the cross there is no other way to a life that is fulfilled, because a life lived for Christ will always be a life lived with purpose.
