Quest 7 - “What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?”

“What are you going to do with your life?”

As a This Gen Pastor, I have always found this question to be one of the most challenging questions to be asked. Many times the context is an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or a family friend that smells like potpourri asks this question at some big family event like a Graduation party, Thanksgiving, or around Christmas time. Regardless of the social situation… it’s a question that strikes fear into the heart of any This Gen individual who hears it. 

The 17 year old…. Is more than likely freaking out about what college they want to go to. 

The recent graduate of high school who knows they aren’t going to college…. Is more than likely wrestling with the emotions of what their peers think. 

The 20 year old who has changed their major three times already… is more than likely freaking out about the college experience they are having. 

The recent college graduate… is more than likely freaking out about how they will adult. 

I’ll be brutally honest here… if you think that this question is only challenging to This Generation, you are lying to yourself. 

If you are like me, there has been a time or two where you have stared yourself down in the mirror and asked yourself… “What are you going to do with your life?” This question comes from a variety of places like general unhappiness, maybe you made a mistake, or there is just a feeling of needing a transition. For whatever reason the question arises, it’s just as terrifying at 37 as it is at 17. 

The reason it’s such a challenging question is because it’s the verbal, relaxed form of the question that most defines our life. That question is “What’s my purpose?”

All of us are chasing after that question. We want meaning, we want satisfaction, we want what we do to actually matter. So because of that, we will do just about anything and everything to hopefully find life’s purpose. Unfortunately for us, unless we know how to search, we simply get led astray. 

Surely you have been there like me - you get this passionate idea…. OH This will be my purpose! You get a new job offer…. OH This will be my purpose! You get accepted into a program at your college… OH this will be my purpose! You see an opportunity to make more money… OH This will be my purpose! 

Yet, often, those don’t give us any more of a sense of a purpose than we had before. The reason is those different things are just means for your actual purpose. Doing things is good, don’t get me wrong, but if they are not aligned with the vision of life that we are called to live, well then we are simply missing the entire point of what our purpose actually is. 

So how do we find the vision for our purpose? What is it? How do we live that out? 

Jesus had a purpose while he was here on this earth and he stated it in his interaction with Zacchaeus. Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

That’s what Jesus was called to do on this Earth. His entire mission was to seek and save the lost people of this earth. The people of Earth needed to know who Jesus was and respond to him. That was the only way that their (and our) sinful lives would be redeemed. That’s what drove Him each and every day to be the best he could possibly be and make as many disciples as possible. 

Sitting here, it would be pretty easy to say… Yeah but. 

Yeah but, Jesus was God so what can I do? 

Yeah but, Jesus had God speaking directly to him, it would be a lot easier if I had that. 

Yeah but, Jesus had all these opportunities placed in front of him, I don’t have that. 

That’s where you are mistaken. We do have that. In fact, our purpose has been given to us and it’s the same exact thing. Once you have come to know who Jesus is and you have responded to him it is your purpose to seek and save the lost people of the world. Those are the people that you work with, live with, are friends with. 

Why? Because they matter to Jesus. Why can you do it? Because Jesus has given us this as our purpose. 

Matthew 28:18-20, “Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is the last thing that Jesus communicated. It was a call that said, I might not be here on this Earth with you, but that doesn’t mean work doesn’t need to be done and that it can’t be done. 

Our entire life purpose should be based around those words of Jesus. Once you understand that our general purpose in life is to make disciples by loving God, loving people, and doing something about it… All the other details seem to go by the wayside. 

All of the sudden the stress that comes with “not having a purpose” goes away because no matter what position you are in you have a purpose and you can make a difference. 

Next week in our blog, I am going to write about our specific purposes that God has given all of us, but for this week, I just want all of us to remember that we have a purpose and that purpose is to seek and save the lost just like Jesus did. 

So next time you are asked about your purpose, whether it’s from someone else or yourself..

Don’t sweat your purpose, don’t fret about your purpose, just live your life with the purpose of helping others know who Jesus is. 

In the words of Mark this week… “Let’s go make Jesus famous.”