WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?

by Barbara Chadwick

 

  

To live with a purpose is to live with hope!

Why were you created?  Why are you here?

When God chooses a person for his purposes, all eternity is affected and molded because of this decision.

I think of the pastor I had when I was a child. God used his gift of story-telling to touch the hearts of so many children. Children who grew up and went to the mission field or became pastors and leaders.

God called our son Kerry to be a minister. When I think of all the people he and his wife, Deanna, have helped financially, encouraged, shared their home with, young people they taught, older people they shared time with, the countless meals they’ve hosted in their home; I am staggered by the sheer numbers of lives they have touched with God’s love through their hospitality.

In Henry Blackaby’s book, Created to Be God’s Friend: How God Shapes Those He Loves, he shows

how God shapes those He loves into useful, joyful co-workers as they hear and respond to His call in
everyday life.

You may not be a minister but every time you respond to God’s nudge to touch someone’s life with

kindness, mercy and with love you can know that God is working in that person’s life – and you can also know that God is at work in your own life.

I remember one time that I was very depressed. The doctor said, “I want you to go and do something

for somebody. Volunteer in a hospital or whatever you can find to do.”  Sure enough, when I helped

others and saw that it blessed their lives I was fulfilled and the result was joy in my heart.

The following scriptures show a worthy purpose for the Christian life:

Romans 12:13  Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

1Timothy 5:10  … is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing

 hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds

of good deeds.

3 John 5-8  John writes to Gaius: Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the

brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love...
We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.

To live with a purpose is to live with hope!