Finding Purpose in the Lord's Commandments
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Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. - Matthew 22:37-39
One need only scroll social media for a few minutes to find an overwhelming number of influencers telling you how to find your purpose. Many a book has been written about it, too, and many a sermon has been preached. There are protocols and steps and all sorts of formulas out there. I find them to be anxiety-producing, honestly, because the inference is you might not find your purpose if you don’t take certain steps and make it really complicated. I tend to be very driven and a high performer, so I can too easily can get caught up in the striving that accompanies many of these approaches.
What if we use the Bible as our guide instead of turning to subjective sources? We know we are first commanded to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). Secondly, we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). We are also instructed to share the good news of salvation in Christ (Mark 16:15 and others). These foundational commandments frame how we are to live our lives, so our purpose must surely flow from them, right? What if we start there and let the Lord lead us in the specifics? Perhaps we don’t need to figure out everything we’re called to do on this earth all at once but instead enjoy the journey and roll with the changing of life’s seasons.
As we start this new year, I’ve decided to focus less on specific goals and resolutions (which in the past I’ve pushed myself to accomplish in the quest for purpose) and instead ask the Lord to show me how to live out my purpose using my unique giftings and abilities within the framework of his commandments. I don't know what fruit this will produce, exactly, but I know it will be a better path than one I forge on my own. Isaiah 45:2 says he strides ahead of us making the rough places smooth, so he knows what’s ahead. What better direction could we have?
Questions for Reflection:
1. Do you set New Year’s resolutions or goals? If so, how can you anchor them in the commandments I list above so you stay flexible with what the Lord is doing in your life?
2. If you don’t set yearly resolutions or goals, what might you do instead to make this year align with the commandments listed above?
3. Do you ever worry as I do if you’re hitting the mark on your purpose? How does your faith inform this and keep you from the striving trap?
