It Begins and Ends With God
Inspired by Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life"
 Why am I here? (It Begins and Ends with God)
Many of you have asked me, “OK, I understand who God is. I understand that He is Lord. I’m willing to commit my life to Him. But what am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to do? What is the point of my life as a Christian?” Well, we are going to try to answer those questions and discover what it is that you were created to be. It’s natural for us all to have these questions. They have been hardwired into our soul by God. But a life of purpose is a life that understands the answers to these questions. It’s a life of motivation and intention, and it looks a lot different than the lives of some of your friends.
A man worked the 4:00 P.M.-to-midnight shift. He always walked home after work. One night the moon was shining so brightly, he decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery, which would save him roughly a half-mile walk. Nothing happened, so he repeated the process on a regular basis, always following the same path. One night as he was walking his route through the cemetery, he did not realize that during the day a grave had been dug in the very center of his regular path. He stepped right into the grave and immediately started desperately trying to get out. His best efforts failed him, and after a few minutes, he decided to relax and wait until morning when someone would help him out. He sat down in the corner and was half asleep when a drunk stumbled into the grave. His arrival roused the shift worker since the drunk was desperately trying to climb out, clawing frantically at the sides. Our hero reached out his hand, touched the drunk on the leg and said, "Friend, you can't get out of here." Suddenly, the drunk jumped so high that he was able to climb right out of the grave. Now that's purpose and motivation!
What is My Purpose (What is God’s Purpose?)
So how do you understand what your purpose is supposed to be? Well, you start by realizing that YOUR purpose can’t be understood outside of the reality of GOD’S purpose. Now at my house, as part of our kitchen décor, we have a number of strange antique utensils hanging on the walls. They are kind of bizarre and unusual and there are several that are nearly impossible to understand. I really can’t figure out what they are intended to do. I have no idea what their purpose is. And as I am looking at them, I realize pretty quickly that the utensil itself can’t tell me everything that I need to know in order to understand its purpose. If I could only ask the person who invented the utensil, then I could understand what it was truly designed to be. The same is true with us. If you want to understand what you are here for, what your purpose in life really is, you can’t rely on your own understanding. You have to go to the source, go to the creator to find out why the creation was created in the first place.
Speculation or Revelation?
See, there are two ways to come to an understanding of your purpose. You could rely on your own speculation, or get smart and look to God’s revelation. After all, he is the creator and can best describe His purpose for the creation called “You”.
 Ephesians 1:11-12
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory
So where do I go to get the answer? It won’t come from you or your best guess. It can only be found in God. There’s an ancient Chinese story:
A farmer had one old horse that he used for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer's neighbors heard about it, they sympathized with the old man over his bad luck. "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" said the farmer. A week later, the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" said the farmer. Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone agreed that this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, who replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and forced every able-bodied young man to go fight in a bloody war. When they saw that the farmer's son had a broken leg, they let him stay. Everyone was very happy at the farmer's good luck. "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"
Life’s hard to understand if you see everything as a series of accidents or coincidental occurrences. It’s only when we understand that God has created us for a reason that we really get to the point of why we are here.
What Is Your Purpose?
Not many people really give much thought to why they are here, and if you ask them, they will have a tough time giving you an answer at all. That may be the result of a way of thinking about things. When you truly believe that you got here on planet earth through a series of accidents and random occurrences, then its easy to accept the notion that everything else is just the product of coincidence and random action as well. There has to be a creator if there is going to be a plan. You need a creator to have a purpose. if there is no creator, then we are just accidents of chance and nothing really matters in the big scheme of things because there is no big scheme of things.
And many of us live as though we were simply accidents of chance. Sadly, some of us have been told that. You know, told by our parents that we were unplanned. just accidents that occurred in the course of a marriage. So some of us have been living without purpose, since we really weren’t supposed to be here in the first place. Well you need to know that there is NO SUCH THING AS AN ACCIDENTAL BABY. Only accidental parents. Your parents may not have planned you, but God planned you from the beginning of time, from the beginning of the universe. He orchestrated your life from all of eternity, and while your parents may not have planned it, they were used by God to bring you here, right now, to fulfill His purpose for your life.
Ephesians 1:4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
So where do I go to get the answer? You won’t discover it accidentally. Ask yourself this question: what are some of the things that make your life meaningful?
It’s Not About Now
Look, all of us search for things to make our lives meaningful. All of us are driven by something that we are excited about. All too often it is something that does not honor God, and sometimes it’s just something that ignores God altogether. Either way, we often try to fill our lives with something other than God. It’s as though we are playing a lifelong game of Trivial Pursuit, or maybe it would better be described as Pointless Distraction. You know the game: fill our lives with everything trivial, focus on stuff that doesn’t really matter, fill our minds with every kind of possible distraction, and maybe after it’s all done, squeeze God in where we can. But God warns us not to focus on all this temporary stuff…
1 John 2:14-17
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.
So where do I go to get the answer? You won’t find it in what you’re doing right now. Ask yourself this question: what would you do if you were guaranteed to live for 200 years?
Once upon a time, twin boys were conceived in the womb. Seconds, minutes, hours passed as the two embryonic lives developed. The spark of life grew and each tiny brain began to take shape and form. With the development of their brain came feeling, and with feeling, perception-a perception of surroundings, of each other, and their own lives. They discovered that life was good, and they laughed and rejoiced in their hearts. One said to the other, "We are sure lucky to have been conceived and to have this wonderful world." The other chimed in, "Yes, blessed be our mother who gave us life and each other." Each of the twins continued to grow and soon their arms and fingers, legs and toes began to take shape. They stretched their bodies and churned and turned in their little world. They explored it and found the life cord which gave them life from their mother's blood. They were grateful for this new discovery and sang, "How great is the love of our mother-that she shares all she has with us!" Weeks passed into months and with the advent of each new month, they noticed a change in each other and in themselves. "We are changing," one said. "What can it mean?" "It means," said the other, "that we are drawing near to birth." An unsettling chill crept over the two. They were afraid of birth, for they knew that it meant leaving their wonderful world behind. Said the one, "Were it up to me, I would live here forever." "But we must be born," said the other. "It has happened to all the others." Indeed, there was evidence inside the womb that the mother had carried life before theirs. "And I believe that there is life after birth, don't you?" "How can there be life after birth?" cried the one. "Do we not shed our life cord and also the blood tissue when we are born? And have you ever talked to anyone that has been born? Has anyone ever re-entered the womb after birth to describe what birth is like? NO!" As he spoke, he fell into despair, and in his despair he moaned, "If the purpose of conception and our growth inside the womb is to end in birth, then truly our life is senseless." He clutched his precious life cord to his breast and said, "And if this is so, and life is absurd, then there really can be no mother!" "But there is a mother," protested the other. "Who else gave us nourishment? Who else created this world for us?" "We get our nourishment from this cord-and our world has always been here!" said the one. "And if there is a mother-where is she? Have you ever seen her? Does she ever talk to you? NO! We invented the mother when we were young because it satisfied a need in us. It made us feel secure and happy." Thus, while the one raved and despaired, the other resigned himself to birth and placed his trust in the hands of his mother. Hours turned into days, and days into weeks. And soon it was time. They both knew their birth was at hand, and they both feared what they did not know. As the one was first to be conceived, so he was the first to be born, the other following. They cried as they were born into the light. They coughed out fluid and gasped the dry air. And when they were sure they had been born, they opened their eyes-seeing life after birth for the very first time. What they saw was the beautiful eyes of their mother, as they were cradled lovingly in her arms. They were home.
Don’t Talk About Dying
Let’s face it, we don’t really like to talk about death. We often simply see it as the end of something good, not the start of something better. We fail to recognize that birth and death share many common traits. Most importantly, they both exist as the portal from one realm of being to another. They are both ‘portal’ experiences that allow us to pass from one form of life to another.
I had a friend at the police department that was diagnosed with cancer. it was not a good diagnosis, and she knew she would die soon. Suddenly all her priorities changed. she no longer cared about how her car looked, or what she would wear, or if the grass would get mowed. She began to focus on her relationship with God and on her relationship with others. She began to love again. She began to reach out again. She stopped thinking short term and started to think LONG TERM. It marked an important transition for her as her priorities turned from the things of this world to the things of eternity. God would like us to start to think like that right now…
Philippians 3:7-11
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
One thing we know about our experience in the womb is that some much of what we digest here has an impact on how we turn out after birth. If we live without purpose here, we will forfeit the joy promised by God on the other side. And it’s important for us to realize that there is, in fact, an “other side”. We were designed to live forever. To live for all of eternity with God. And this life is only a warm up, a testing and training time for a live spent with our maker. So where do I go to get the answer? You won’t find it by focusing on this life. Ask Yourself: What are the areas of your life where you really shine?
In the year 1870, the Methodist churches in Indiana were having their annual conference. At one point, the president of the college where they were meeting addressed the group and told them they were living in a very exciting age. He said he believed that they were coming into a time of great inventions and that he believed, for example, that men would some day fly through the air like birds. The presiding bishop didn't think much of this statement. As a matter of fact, he called it heresy and said that the Bible says that flight is reserved for angels so there would be no such talk there. When the bishop got home, he told his family about what the president had said and how ridiculous it was. But his two young sons Wilbur and Orville heard the statement and immediately realized what God had in store for them. They understood that God had designed them for this very task even if their father, Bishop Wright, didn’t think it could be done. Wilbur and Orville Wright spent the rest of their lives building airplanes to the Glory of God. They knew they had been designed for a purpose and lived a life that reflected this truth!
When we understand why it is we were created, our life takes a new shape and a new direction…
 Knowing Why You Were Created Will Give Your Life Meaning
Job had plenty of reason to give up in his difficult situation. We read in scripture that he was plagued with deaths, loss, boils and any number of other problems. He was clearly discouraged:
Job 7:6
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And come to an end without hope.
Job 7:16
I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.
It’s true that life doesn’t make any sense unless you are able to search for purpose in God’s plan for your life. If there is no God, and no plan, then the worst of times will defeat us easily. But with a creator designing our present and our future, we can be patient in even terrible situations.
 Knowing Why You Were Created Will Make Your Life Simpler
David had a complicated life. Think about it. For years he was being chased by King Saul and had to hide to save his life. Then he ascends to the throne as King and has to shoulder the burdens of a nation. Along the way, he is plagued by his own personal sin and the many troubles that result. How can he ever survive the complexity? Listen to what he writes:
Psalm 62:5-6
My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
Peace of mind comes when we are able to discard the trivial and focus on the important. when we get our eyes on God alone, and understand the single purpose he has for our lives, life is simpler.
 Knowing Why You Were Created Will Give Your Life Focus
No one was more intense and focused than the apostle Paul. He spread the Word throughout the Roman Empire with tireless effort. How did he do it?
Philippians 3:13
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead
He understood his future and his purpose in getting there. Then he simply lived his life with purpose and passion, understanding that God had designed him to join him in heaven.
 Knowing Why You Were Created Will Give Your Life Motivation
Life without motivation is passionless and pointless. Even more dangerous, life with the WRONG motivation is reckless and wasted. King Solomon observed that most of us live with misplaced motivations:
Ecclesiastes 4:4
And I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.
Whatever is motivating you right now, I guarantee that you are falling short of your potential. Far short. Once you know why you were created, you will find yourself motivated to become that thing to its fullest possibility. And your life of motivation will inspire others.
 Knowing Why You Were Created Will Prepare You for the Glory of Eternity
Finally, a life of purpose will prepare you for eternity. Look at how the Apostle John describes heaven…
Revelation 22:3-5
And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; 4 and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.
Heaven is the ideal place where we belong. It is what we were designed for. Yet, notice who shines in heaven. It’s not us. It’s God. He is the light and at best we merely reflect his image as our name is written on our foreheads. It is a place where God gets all the glory, just as he deserves. And that seems appropriate, doesn’t it?
Romans 11:36
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.
We have been designed to bring Glory to God. That is the simple truth and the reality of our existence here. We were not designed to bring Glory to ourselves, and while it may feel good for a while, we will ultimately fall short of the joy we could know until we finally realize that we were designed to bring Glory to God. A life that honors God in this way, is by far the most satisfying life we can ever live. Everything we think is great now is even more enjoyable and satisfying when it is done to the Glory of God. God’s going to ask you two questions when you finally meet him. 1) What did you do with my son? (Did you glorify me with your decision?) and 2) what did you do with the gifts that I gave you? (Did you glorify me with your decisions?)
If You Accepted God’s Purpose
All the joy you could possibly imagine will be found when we realize why we were created. When we realize that we were created to bring Glory to God. So where do I go to get the answer? It can only be found in God. We will be happiest and most fulfilled when we realize that we were created to glorify God | 
