Last week we talked about the difference between luck and believing in a sovereign God in our "Is Luck Real?" article. This week, we tackle a question that has plagued so many of us, What is our purpose?

The rush of becoming a Christian and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior can be so exciting and going to youth group, college group, or church every sunday can be your new favorite day. But when you sit down to really think about what life looks like moving forward, it’s common to question what your purpose is. Or maybe you have been a believer for all your life, but you feel your relationship with Jesus is stale. Maybe you feel like you aren’t talented at much, and while your friends are pursuing their dream jobs or succeeding well in their lives, or seem to have found the perfect balance of faith and work, you can feel left behind. 

What am I to do? 

Of course we know we exist with a purpose and God created us for a reason, but sometimes it seems like we aren’t really sure what to do with our time or if we even have much to contribute to the world.

This article should hopefully give you some direction and guidance on what matters most right now in your season of life. 

The first thing you need to understand is, regardless of your talents (or the lack of), or whether or not you feel peace about what you are doing, is that you matter. You serve a purpose. If you didn’t, the Lord would have taken you to him by now. Yet He hasn’t… Why? 

Because we have a mission. A unified mission. What is that mission? You would think it’s the great commission and sharing the Gospel (which is totally true), but it’s only half of the mission. If that were our only objective in life, then we should all become missionaries all at once and travel the world and once everyone has heard the Gospel, we can high five each other and wait for the Second Coming. A nice thought, but what about working? What about your family and friends? What about contributing to society right here and now? What about school? What about making a sandwich? Are these things considered worthless and meaningless since our mission on earth is to evangelize?

By no means.

This might blow your mind but when God created the world, He put Adam and Eve into the garden and gave them the command to work. Yep… Before the fall of man and the curse of sin, we were created to work. Adam and Eve were to tend to the land called Eden, to have dominion over it, to name the animals, to procreate and all the while, walk with the Lord. 

What that means is that God created us with the intention to live on this earth, to work it, to spend time with others, to have fun, and to make the most of life all the while bringing glory to God through it. It doesn’t matter if you are Billy Graham speaking to 100,000 people about Jesus or cleaning hotel rooms, both share the same opportunity to bring glory to God and both are equally important.

“So whether you eat, or drink, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” - 1 Corinthians 10:31

Even in the littlest of things in life right now, your mission is to bring glory to God in them. So whether you are on a mission trip to the middle east to evangelize to muslims or you are stuck in a dorm studying for an exam, or working at a fast food restaurant down the street still living with your parents, you serve a greater purpose and can right now serve God through it.

We don’t work for our boss, we work for Christ.

We don’t work for ourselves, we work to serve the God of the universe. 

It's Our Mindset, Not Our Circumstances

If we feel like we aren’t contributing much to the kingdom because of what we do, chances are, it’s not the job or school, it’s your mindset towards it. Let me explain.

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15.

The word “work it” and “take care” from Genesis 2:15 is “abad,” which translates to “work” but also can be translated as “serve.” Even more, it is used all over the Hebrew Bible to mean “worship.” 

So our calling to work (which is not a curse), is also synonymous with serving and worshiping the Lord. 

This concept should blow our minds. The world tells us the only way we can truly matter and not be forgotten is by being famous or curing a disease, but Scripture tells us that where we are right now, with the work we do (as long as it aligns with God’s values), is an opportunity to serve and worship the Lord. 

How great of an honor it is that even in the littlest of things, we are called to bring glory to God in them and that they matter to Him?

So what is our purpose as a Christian right now?

It’s evident from this discussion that our purpose is to work hard, and be exceptional at everything we currently are responsible for, possess, and do for the glory of God. We don’t have to be the next big pastor or theologian to make a difference in this world. We just need to shift our mindset with every little thing that we do, to become an act of worship and service to God.

This means serving your coworker. Loving well the customers you see. Loving well your fellow classmates. Honoring your parents. Working hard to excel in your studies. Giving you 110% at the most mundane things. Your very actions are a witness to the power of Christ and what he can do through us when we see our lives as a constant state of worship to Him who has set us free from sin.

For a more in depth breakdown of this concept, check out Garden City by John Mark Comer. A tremendous book for finding God in our work and serving our ultimate purpose.