A friendly reminder that our Purpose is to Know God

The past decade of my life has been spent clinging loosely to my passions and sort of acknowledging God. I did not care to understand individual purpose, in part because I doubted it existed, and in part because it felt too overwhelming to approach. Recently, however, I watched a few sermons insisting that we must seek it, and that there are indeed ways to find it. Such things just seem impossible to pinpoint.

Sure, I've done brief vocational studies, prayed about my future, catalogued my passions, and otherwise scratched the surface of what life might look like. But that was never enough. Now, it seems like so much around me is encouraging me to stop, take a deep look at myself, and know. Not just wonder. This semester marks the start of my journey into purpose.

You might ask, what does this process of purpose-seeking involve, and why is it important? To which I would honestly respond that I'm still exploring those answers. What I do know without a shadow of doubt is this: A right relationship with God is the first step. This is the only way to become healthy (the kind of healthy that God wants you to be, not the "self-care" allusions of our culture, which either promote basic human needs or a veiled excuse to be selfish -- but that's a whole other can of worms). When we are in the Bible every day, studying every day, we learn more about who we serve and what His heart actually holds. Then we can respond. To know what's important to God, the characteristics believers ought to overflow with, and words of Jesus is to know what centers our lives. Pursue God and He will foster in you the desire for more.

That's the paradox of this whole situation of purpose. In the beginning, we're not actually looking for what we should do or who we are, but what God has done and who He is! Do you want to know your purpose, or maybe even make a current life decision? Then turn to God's glory and learn to act in righteous. And what does that look like? Believe it or not, it should be natural, not a complicated and overthought conundrum. As written in James 2:18-19 (NIV), "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that -- and shudder." The Christian faith is less of a mysterious force and more of a call-and-response. Our Creator called, so now we must answer. And when we seek anything, we must do the calling ourselves, that an answer may come to us. And when we know what we should ask for, the seeking becomes far less stressful! James 4:2b-3a (NIV): "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives."

Maybe searching for one set, solid, singular purpose is foolishness. Maybe we set our goals and follow our convictions and never get to the place we thought we'd be because we cannot fathom God's plan. We may look at our past and realize how important Sunday School was in our individual lives, then come to conclude that that's where God wants us to serve. You might have come to know Jesus by living a normal life and being ministered to by a friend, a coworker, a stranger, and realized that you can serve the Lord by being a witness in your business career. Growing up in an abusive household and spending years working through trauma might lead someone to become an advocate and counselor for people struggling just as they were. But even those hints and suspicions of where to go are half the story already written for you.

Basically, here's how you start with anything, but particularly the topic of purpose: align yourself with God's heart. Get to know Him personally. Then intentionally reflecting on how you've been equipped for obedient service, in your past and in your present. Then . . . what? Do you start to know what you were made for? Or is our overarching purpose far simpler than we tend to make it in this complicated world?

Adam and Eve were made to serve and to know God. The first humans were made for service and community. Maybe the beginning of Genesis is truly the answer to all our questions, and we should stop overcomplicating everything.

And this is why exploring purpose is important: Not because you need to know in order to move forward, but because we need to know God. To seek Him is your purpose. All else that comes is a collection of steps guided from above. And that, my friends, is the basis for life and all that comes in it.