Did you know you were born for a purpose? God created each of us for a reason, and we are happiest when we are living in harmony with the purpose He has given us.
Yet, many people have no idea what life is all about. They live and they die, searching for some kind of meaning and wondering whether their lives have purpose. They may have put together the finest coin collection in the world, or they may have been voted "most popular" in high school, but all too soon, youthful plans and dreams evaporate into anxiety and frustration over missed opportunities, failed relationships, or countless other "if only" and "might have been."
Many people lead empty, unfulfilled lives, lacking in purpose and meaning beyond the short-lived gratification of money, sex, power, or popularity, none of which means anything. But life could be much more than this because God offers each of us much more. He offers us true significance and purpose, the joy of being what He created us to be.
The first chapter of the Bible tells us, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Obviously, we are not in God’s image in terms of height or weight or skin color. God is a spirit, uncreated, and we are created of matter. Still, God has made humanity in His own image, which means that there are essential ways in which He has made us to be like Him. We are self-aware, we can communicate, plan, think creatively, design and build, solve problems, and be a force for good in our world. And we can love.
Yet, in many different ways, people are not much like God at all. In fact, people can often be rather ungodly. In spite of our ungodliness, there are certain things we can be sure of; that God will always be faithful in His love toward us.
One of Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “…Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” (John 14:8) And Jesus answered, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (Verse 9) In other words, Jesus is saying, what you really need to know about God, you can see in me. He is not talking about skin color, clothing styles, or carpentry skills, He is talking about spirit, attitude, and actions. John wrote in 1 John 4:8 that, “God is love.” And Jesus shows us what love is, and how we are to love as people being conformed to His image.
Since humans were made in the image of God, and Jesus is the image of God, it is no wonder that God is conforming us to the image of Jesus. And our goal should be to, "…reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13) As we are changed into Jesus’ image, the image of God is restored in us, and we become what we were made to be.
But wait a minute, you might be thinking. “I’ll never be good enough. I’m just an ordinary person. If heaven is a perfect place, then I don’t belong there. I’ve made mistakes and my life is messed up.” But that’s okay. God already knows that, but He isn’t going to let it stop Him. He has plans for you, and He has already planned for problems like that to be overcome. That’s because everyone has messed up; everyone has sinned, and no one deserves to go to heaven.
God already knows about it, and if you let Him, He will transform you to be more and more like Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18) Of course, it takes patience but the process fills life with meaning and purpose.
God’s plan centers on Jesus Christ, who was sinless and who suffered for our sins in our place. He represents us before God and offers us the gift of eternal life, if we will accept it from him. In Romans 3:23 Paul reminds us that, “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But we have been justified, or made right, through the grace of God. It’s a gift! We can’t earn it nor do we deserve it, God just gives it to us out of His mercy and righteousness.
Many people seem to think that we have to be "good enough" for God. Suppose we ask them, what makes you think that you’ll go to heaven, or that you’ll have eternal life in the kingdom of God? Many people will respond, “Because I’ve been good. I’ve done this, or I haven’t done that.” The truth is, that no matter how much good we think we have done, we are never "good enough" to earn a place in a perfect world, because we are not perfect. We have fallen short, but we are made right by what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.
God saves us, the Bible says, "… not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace." (2 Timothy 1:9) Even if our works are very good, they are not the reason God saves us. We need to be rescued because our good works are not enough to save us. We need mercy and grace, and God gives us that in Jesus Christ.
If it were possible for us to earn eternal life through good behavior, then God would have told us how. The Apostle Paul says, "…if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law." (Galatians 3:21) But the law cannot give us life, even if we could keep it.
But Jesus came to earth for this very reason, to die for us. Jesus said that He came "…to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28) His life was given to rescue us, or redeem us. The Bible repeatedly says that "Christ died for us" and that He died "for our sins." (See Romans 5:6-8; 1 Corinthians 5:14; 15:3; Galatians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:10)
"The wages of sin is death," Paul tells in Romans 6:23, "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." We deserve to die, but we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ. We don’t deserve to live with God, since we aren’t perfect, but God saves us through his Son. Because of God’s generosity, because of His grace, we will share eternity with Jesus Christ. Or rather, He will share it with us, not because of anything we have done, but because He loves us and wants to give it to us.
The message of salvation is received by faith, by trusting Jesus, by taking Him at His word, by believing the good news. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31) The gospel is effective for "…the salvation of everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16) If we don’t believe the message, we won't receive its benefits.
First, we should admit that we are sinners, that we haven’t earned the right to eternal life, and that we don’t deserve to share in an inheritance with Jesus Christ. We have to admit that we’ll never be "good enough" for heaven and we have to trust that Jesus did enough, in His death and resurrection, to pay our spiritual debts. We have to trust in His mercy and grace, admitting that there is no other way to get in.
Let’s bring the discussion back to our purpose in life. God says that He made us for a purpose, and that purpose is that we become like Him. We are to be united with God’s family, brothers and sisters of Jesus. He has already paid the price and done the work, and His message, the message of the Bible, is that our salvation comes by what He has done for us. Experience (as well as Scripture) says that we can’t trust in ourselves.
Our only hope of salvation, of life, of becoming who God made us to be, is to trust in Christ. We can become like Christ because He, knowing all about our failings and shortcomings, says that He will bring it about! Without Christ, life is pointless, we are stuck in the mud. But Jesus tells us that He has purchased our freedom, He can make us clean. We can accept His offer, or we can reject it and stay in the mud.
We have nothing to lose but a pointless and frustrating life, and Jesus offers us a fulfilling, joyful, exciting and abundant life for eternity. He invites us to give up pride and worry, and we gain peace of mind and joy of heart. Jesus invites us to join Him in His glory, but the journey to glory involves humility; putting other people before ourselves. We have to loosen our grip on the things of this life, and fasten our hold on Jesus. If we want a new life, we have to be willing to let go of the old one.
In Jesus, God demonstrates His grace; He knows that no matter how hard we try, we will never be good enough on our own. In Jesus, God gives us help; He sends the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name to live within us, to change us from the inside out. God is making us to be like Himself.
Jesus has for us an eternity of joy. Each individual, as a child in the family of God, has purpose and significance. We were made for eternal glory, and the path to glory is Jesus, who Himself is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (See John 14:6) For Jesus, it meant a cross. He calls us to join Him on that part of the journey, too. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) But the cross was followed by the resurrection to glory.
Have you thought about accepting His invitation? If you do, you may not see amazing results right away, but your life will definitely take on new significance and meaning. You’ll gain purpose, you’ll understand where you’re going and why, and you’ll be given new strength, new courage and great peace.
Jesus is inviting you to a party that lasts forever. Will you accept the invitation?
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