Purpose

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

The other day, I was spending way too much time on a little website called Pinterest (my guilty pleasure), and I stumbled upon a picture. The picture was of a real Starbucks coffee cup with a quote on the side. Below is a picture of this coffee cup.

This little cup got me thinking. Why is it that so many people wonder if their life has any purpose? Isn't it obvious? The simple fact that we are able to ponder that question tells us that, yes, our life indeed has meaning.

C.S. Lewis once said, "If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning."

I believe this same logic can apply to our lives. If our lives had no meaning, we wouldn't ever be sad about it; in fact, it probably would never even occur to us. For in order to understand a lack of something, there needs to be a something to compare it to. We understand dark because it is the absence of light. We can feel cold because we've felt warmth. If the whole world was always cold, you might know what it feels like to have blue lips and chattering teeth, but you wouldn't be able to call it "cold" because you wouldn't know anything different. It's just "normal." Thus, if people didn't have a distinct purpose, they wouldn't think or converse about it. It would just be fact.

In the words of Got Right Ministries, "The purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We glorify God by fearing and obeying Him, keeping our eyes on our future home in heaven, and knowing Him intimately. We enjoy God by following His purpose for our lives, which enables us to experience true and lasting joy—the abundant life that He desires for us"

Therefore, live your life with the confidence that God has a plan and purpose for you, with the knowledge that these plans are to give you hope and a future, and with the discipline to live out these plans.

<3