Day 40: Living with purpose

..::*+ Small Talk +*::..

Cheer for myself. I finished the book without breaking my promise. Thank you all for the continual supports, motivations, praises, and comments. I achieved this because of everyone’s efforts to help me. And of course, it is all for God’s glory I do this. I will do a small summary and thoughts about the book in my next post.

I manage! Thank You, LORD!

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Do you believe in chain reaction?

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Day 40: Living with purpose

To live with purpose is the only way to really live. Everything else just exists. Talking about existence, most people struggle with 3 basic issues in life:

1. Identity: “Who am I?”

2. Importance: “Do I matter?”

3. Impact: “What is my place in life?”

But actually, all these three questions are answered within the 5 purposes of life. But knowing the 5 purposes of life is not enough. In Bible Jesus said:

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
John 13:17

It means you probably need to stop doing some other things. They might be good; they can also be bad. But either way, God’s purposes are the five essentials you must do. We will get distracted easily, however, and therefore we should develop a purpose statement for ourselves and review it regularly.

What is a life purpose statement?? You might ask this question. In fact, I asked the same thing when I saw it.

1. It is a statement that summarizes God’s purposes for your life. It’s a commitment from you to God about the five purposes for your life. It is not goals.

Goals are temporary; purposes are eternal.
Rick Warren – The Purpose Driven Life

But the plans of the Lord stands firm forever,
the purposes of his heart though all generations.
Psalm 33:11

2. It is a statement that points the direction of your life. Writing down your purposes force you to think specifically about the path of your life.

An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.
Proverbs 17:24 Today’s English Version

3. It is a statement that defines “success” for you. It states what you believe is important, not what the world says. It clarifies your values.

4. It is a statement that clarifies your roles. You will get different roles at different stages of life, but your purposes will never change. They are much more significant than any role you will have.

5. It is a statement that expresses your shape. It shows the unique ways God made you to serve him.

It takes time to write out this life purpose statement. But don’t aim for perfection in your first draft. You will need to change it as time goes on. To draw out this statement, we should consider these five questions:

Life’s five greatest questions:

1. What will be the center of my life? This is a worship question. Who is the center of your life? Remember, family, hobby, money, having fun etc are also good things, just that they don’t belong to the center of your life. None of them can hold you when your life starts to break apart. You need unshakable center – God. How do we know if God is at the center of our lives?

When God is at the center, you worship. When He is not, you worry.
Rick Warren – The Purpose Driven Life

Worry is the sign that God has been pushed to aside. But when you put him back to the center of your life, you will find peace again.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

2. What will be the character of my life? This is a discipleship question. Who will you want to be? Be reminded that God is far more interested in what you are rather than what you do. Your character will go together with you to eternity, not your career. Make a list of qualities you want to work on. Don’t be discouraged when you stumble. It takes time to shape the Christlike character. Persevere in it.

3. What will be the contribution of my life? This is a service question. You should know your SHAPE, and from there understand yourself what is your best role in the family of God. How to make a difference? Remember the benefits of your service:

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people, but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
Rick Warren – The Purpose Driven Life

4. What will be the communication of my life? This is a mission question. You should include sharing your testimony and the Good News as your missionary tools. Tell others your testimonies and life lessons. God will enable us to reach out to certain people. Use your experience with God to your statement. Our statements must be validating. Therefore, we are asked to live a Christian life:

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in the matter worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Philippians 1:27

5. What will be the community of my life? This is a fellowship question. How will you practice the “one another” commands? How will you show your commitment to other believers and connection to the family of God?

As you answering these questions, include any Scripture verses that come across you. It takes time to compose your life purpose statement. So don’t be rush on it. Pray and think carefully about it instead.

To be honest, I did ask myself “What about marriage, job, or other things? Rick Warren did not say anything about it.” But these are secondary issues. What matters the most is that you fulfill God’s eternal purposes regardless of these issues. Yes, I do like or love someone. But to marry her is not my purpose of life. To marry is just a decision to support my purposes.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21

One day God will ask the same 5 questions. And we are expected to be able to answer them.

God wants to use you

Neither future nor past generations can serve God’s purpose in this generation.

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
2 Chronicles 16:9a

To fulfill God’s purposes, we will face a lot of challenges. But don’t give in to discouragement.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
2 Corinthians 4:17

I will live for His 5 purposes of life. And I am glad Rick Warren wrote this book. I will start to live a life with these five elements as foundation. I am, and I will.

Closing The Purpose Driven Life book,

Vincent