This past weekend our nephew got married in Laguna Beach…..YEP, with the high tides and storm water all over the place!! It was quite exciting as the plans for the evening were changed a number of times due to the weather!
How many times have you driven along Pacific Coast Highway in Orange County, CA. and wished you could ‘live there’? We witnessed quite a lot of devastation to some homes, which caused a lot of reflection on life for me.
Our past few weeks we looked at Spiritual Gifts. I gave you some websites to utilize for some help with your ‘gifts’. If you have not done that yet, I hope that you will!
Your spiritual gifts are to be used to edify the body of Christ, in your church and in other areas where the Lord may put you. Which leads me to our next topic…for this week…
What is YOUR Purpose in life??
What is YOUR Passion in life??
Where/How are you allowing God to be most glorified in and through you?
PURPOSE
What is it???
It has been described as ‘what we define as our reason for being’. It is why we exist in the world. When you have a purpose, it doesn’t matter if you feel passionate in a given moment, you know the passion will come and go, because you have something to contribute to the world and you are determined to see it through.
PASSION
What is it???
It is typically emotionally driven. It is about experiencing powerful feelings about something. However, there are a lot of cultural and societal influences that can color our view. The challenge is that passion may not sustain the test of time. People often find themselves becoming unhappy or discouraged about their circumstances when they feel they are lacking the passion that should propel them forward. (Victoria Wilson; Change, Perspective)
If you have ever read the book “Desiring God” by John Piper these are some of the questions that he suggests for the reader to ‘wrestle with’. I LOVE how he defined his personal PURPOSE and the mission of his ministry with this core statement:
“I exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.”
The Supremacy of God ~ Life is not about human centrality, but about magnifying the greatness, value, and glory of God.
The Joy of all Peoples – Piper teaches that true human joy and God’s glory are deeply connected – people find their highest satisfaction in delighting in God rather than choosing between personal happiness and glorifying Him.
Through Jesus Christ ~ Everything centers on the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ as the supreme treasure and path to knowing God.
Pretty powerful elements of Pipers Purpose!!!
Recently my husband was speaking with one of his sisters about ‘her life having meaning’. She has a passion for something, however, cannot figure out how to ‘DO IT”. She has been speaking about this passion for over 10 years. He has given her great examples, fabulous ideas on how to move forward, yet she has not done one thing about that “passion’….however, this time he said to her ~”Won’t it be sad if you say this same thing to me in 20 years, and you have done nothing to DO IT!! Pursue your passion!!”
One thought about this is….“If you can’t figure out your Purpose, figure out your Passion. For your passion will lead you directly to your Purpose”.
I recently had this very EPIPHANY!! I was struggling about my Purpose. I just could not identify what it was….THEN….God reminded me about my PASSIONS…
My passions are knowing and teaching about the names and character of God and Jesus Christ. And…teaching women ‘how to study’ God’s Word.
These three things have become my personal passion, and I didn’t even know it!! From that passion has now become my Purpose!
“The true significance of life is that God made human beings in HIS image, with precious value. And that value, that significance, consists in knowing God, loving God, showing God. In other words….Life is all about God.
Man is not central. God is central.” John Piper
We find passion and purpose when we aim to live for God’s Glory in every moment of our days.
And finally… 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, DO ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD’.”
-Cindy
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