“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” — John 15:16 (ESV)
You and I were born with a deep desire to live with purpose. As children, we dream of doing something significant with our lives. We dream of being a person who makes a difference in the world. Inherent in all of us is a longing to make a deep and lasting impact. Our longing for purpose only becomes a problem as we begin seeking out its source. Most of us live our lives in constant pursuit of finding out why we’re here, seeking the answer to the question: “What am I uniquely made for?” And we look for the answers in all the wrong places. We look for our purpose in each other, in the ever-changing whims of society, or internally, in what seems to make us feel good in the moment. But God has a better purpose for our lives than we could ever find in the world. He has a purpose so great, so powerful and so lasting that when we get a glimpse of it, we will forever be changed. God has a page in His grand narrative written just for you, to use you to make a unique and eternal impact on the earth.
Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) 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.” Let us not miss the importance of what God would reveal to us today because we’ve heard something before. Instead, let’s dive in deeper and see what God’s Word would reveal to us about that purpose. In John 15:16 (ESV) Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” You are chosen by God. You aren’t secondary to someone else in God’s Kingdom. He has formed you and chosen you to “go and bear fruit.” And Jesus desires that our fruit would “abide.” He has chosen you to make a lasting impact on the earth.
So, what lasting fruit does God intend for you here? Answering this question should start with the words of Jesus. Allow God’s commandments to lay the defining foundation of your purpose. In response to the question of what the greatest commandment is, Jesus replies, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31, ESV). Your purpose here on earth is to love God and love others. God has chosen to use love to bring about salvation. He’s chosen to use love as the catalyst for spiritual awakening. It’s love that is God’s driving force, and it’s love that He longs to instill in us as our highest goal. Understand today that you are formed and called to love above all else.
Scripture also tells us that we have been chosen to be carriers and ministers of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in Mark 1:15 (ESV), “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” God’s Kingdom is here on earth. And Revelation 5:10 (ESV) says, “You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” We are not purposed to merely suffer and wait for Heaven. God’s Kingdom is here on earth, and we are His workmanship. We are His priests. Acts 26:16 (ESV) says, “Rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.” Matthew 28:19 (ESV) says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Your life here is of eternal value. A life spent simply waiting for Heaven is a life wasted. God has placed an eternal purpose on your life, a purpose meant to be pursued and lived out every minute of every day. You don’t have time to waste. And the compelling truth is, you will never be satisfied until you devote your life to ministering this incredible gospel of restoration and love. Until you pursue seeing God’s Kingdom come through your job, relationships and time, you will never experience the joy and passion only God’s purpose can bring you. God doesn’t have a cookie-cutter mold He tries to fit all believers into. He’s formed you for a specific and unique purpose no other believer will be able to accomplish. His plans for you are your own and no other’s.
So choose today to live your life for your Heavenly Father. Work with Him in all that you do. Love Him and others with every fiber of your being. And experience the joy of making a deep, eternal impact with all that you do. May God renew your sense of purpose today.
— Craig Denison, First 15
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