Atomic potential

Taking a page from "How's Line is it Anyways?", last night we broke up into groups and dreamed up a variety of uses for random objects. It was a lot of fun seeing the ideas people came up with for different objects like an eyelash curler. The take away from that time (other than just simply having fun) was that these items could be used for many of the things we came up with but, in fact, they were designed and created with a very specific purpose in mind.

In a similar sense, you were designed and created by God with a very specific purpose in mind. None of us have to ever wonder whether we have meaning or purpose or significance in our lives. We have all of those because God gave them to use when he created us.

We can think of a tiny atom used in an atom bomb; all of the energy needed for that reaction is already contained with the atom, nothing has to be added, it just needs to be released. You also have everything you need to fulfill God's purpose for your life. You have talents, passions, and desires that were given to you by God to fulfill that purpose. You may have to find them, refine them, or develop them but today as you sit there - you already have them.

Having a purpose given to us by God and not knowing it should haunt us a little. If we don't have at least some sense of what that purpose it, it should bother us a little. A natural consequence of that, at least I hope it is, is to try to seek that purpose out. As you search for those things, here are three tests that will let you know you're on the right track to finding the purpose God has given you:

1. Satisfaction - you were made to love very specific things. Your passions and interests are unique and they conform to whatever your passion is. You'll know you're living out your purpose when it awakens a passion inside of you. Ask yourself this, do you "tear up" when you talk about whatever it is that you're doing? One important note, your job may or may not be your passion. Perhaps ideally it should be but you may live out your passion outside of your work hours. If that's the case, though, be especially careful not to neglect your passion for something that is a lower priority.
2. Glorification - you were made to glorify God. This is a part of our purpose that we share with everyone. Ask yourself this, does what I do make God look good in some way? Does it have the effect of increasing peoples' opinion of God? Do people, by watching you fulfill your purpose, see something about God that's attractive?
3. Posterity - your life was meant to matter. Your purpose is your siginificance. It is the one thing you were put on this Earth to do that noone else can do quite as good as you. Ask yourself this, will the effect or result of what I do last long after I am gone? We sometimes mistakenly think that there are only a select few that were meant to change the world. We must realize that world changers are simply individuals that realized their potential. In a world of people not living up to their God-given potential, that is quite an extraordinary thing.

I hope these thoughts encourage you to examine your life and pursue God to find out your purpose. Stay tuned at Core over the next couple months as we talk about how you to find your purpose. We're in for some exciting times ahead!