On Purpose (A Reflection)
In my long conversation with Paul (the new business manager at the office), I got to ask him about how he knows what God wants him to do with his life.
Paul made it simple by saying: that's between you and God.
I told him about my insistence on doing things that are worthwhile, i.e. things that are uniquely mine, that no other person can be hired or bought to do. I told him that I want to have a purpose in life, and I've been searching for that purpose.
He rightaway shot me down by saying: "Now that.. is faulty thinking."
I was a little bit stunned by his remark. I've never met anyone who responds to my "insistence on purpose" so negatively. (I'm brought up in an environment where "purpose" has to be clearly defined).
Paul then continued, "God's vision is not the earthly kind, it is of the heavenly kind. and us, as believers, we are not part of this earth, although we are on this earth. we are pilgrims on our journey home to God."
"But while we're on the journey, we do His bidding, which is also of the heavenly kind."
Paul then shared with me how he lives his life. He shared how he always try to "add Christian value" to the workplace that he's in, to encourage and strengthen fellow believers, but most of all to bring in more people into the kingdom of God. He told us that he took a paycut to join us, and that's because he felt he has done "his work" at his previous company, where he has managed to link-up heart-to-heart even to his superiors and share the Gospel with them. He's now with us because he felt God was telling him that it was time for him to move on, and so he did.
This conversation with Paul happened a few days ago, but all this came back to me when I was reading "Our Daily Bread" for today. The message is a crystalization of what Paul was saying:
1. "Don't worry too much about your investments on earth, we are pilgrims on this earth, we're here only for a short time, so do investments of the heavenly kind."
2. "Heavenly kind of investments means doing your current work the best that you can, and using this as a vehicle to bring more people to God, and to encourage your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ."
I guess purpose/objectives are OK when we're doing projects or running operations. But as for lives, the purpose has already been clearly stated: it's the heavenly kind! :-)
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He Is A Fire
Read: Hebrews 12:25-29
Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. —Hebrews 12:28-29
Bible In One Year: 2 Kings 19-21; John 4:1-30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On December 5, 2002, the headline announced:
Ring Of Fire Encircles Sydney
A firestorm was raging outside the Australian city. Many people feared that this bushfire would prove to be Sydney's worst in decades. Fanned by strong winds, high temperatures, and low humidity, the fire jumped across roads and rivers, consuming everything in its path.
When we think about the destructive power of that kind of inferno, we gain a better understanding of the startling words of Hebrews 12:29, "Our God is a consuming fire."
Why did the author of Hebrews use such graphic imagery to describe the Lord? In his letter he was dealing with spiritual life-and-death issues—what his readers believed and the reality of their faith. Their response would reveal whether they were investing their lives in the kingdom that will last forever, or in the one destined for destruction.
We too need to remember that this world and all we possess are only temporary. If our faith and hope are in Jesus Christ, we are part of a kingdom that cannot be destroyed (v.28). Knowing that our days on earth are numbered and that "our God is a consuming fire," let us serve Him and invest in things that are imperishable. —Albert Lee
Our God is a consuming fire
And will destroy earth's temporal things;
He seeks to purify our lives
For service to the King of kings. —D. De Haan
Hold tightly to what is eternal and loosely to what is temporal.
Paul made it simple by saying: that's between you and God.
I told him about my insistence on doing things that are worthwhile, i.e. things that are uniquely mine, that no other person can be hired or bought to do. I told him that I want to have a purpose in life, and I've been searching for that purpose.
He rightaway shot me down by saying: "Now that.. is faulty thinking."
I was a little bit stunned by his remark. I've never met anyone who responds to my "insistence on purpose" so negatively. (I'm brought up in an environment where "purpose" has to be clearly defined).
Paul then continued, "God's vision is not the earthly kind, it is of the heavenly kind. and us, as believers, we are not part of this earth, although we are on this earth. we are pilgrims on our journey home to God."
"But while we're on the journey, we do His bidding, which is also of the heavenly kind."
Paul then shared with me how he lives his life. He shared how he always try to "add Christian value" to the workplace that he's in, to encourage and strengthen fellow believers, but most of all to bring in more people into the kingdom of God. He told us that he took a paycut to join us, and that's because he felt he has done "his work" at his previous company, where he has managed to link-up heart-to-heart even to his superiors and share the Gospel with them. He's now with us because he felt God was telling him that it was time for him to move on, and so he did.
This conversation with Paul happened a few days ago, but all this came back to me when I was reading "Our Daily Bread" for today. The message is a crystalization of what Paul was saying:
1. "Don't worry too much about your investments on earth, we are pilgrims on this earth, we're here only for a short time, so do investments of the heavenly kind."
2. "Heavenly kind of investments means doing your current work the best that you can, and using this as a vehicle to bring more people to God, and to encourage your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ."
I guess purpose/objectives are OK when we're doing projects or running operations. But as for lives, the purpose has already been clearly stated: it's the heavenly kind! :-)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He Is A Fire
Read: Hebrews 12:25-29
Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. —Hebrews 12:28-29
Bible In One Year: 2 Kings 19-21; John 4:1-30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On December 5, 2002, the headline announced:
Ring Of Fire Encircles Sydney
A firestorm was raging outside the Australian city. Many people feared that this bushfire would prove to be Sydney's worst in decades. Fanned by strong winds, high temperatures, and low humidity, the fire jumped across roads and rivers, consuming everything in its path.
When we think about the destructive power of that kind of inferno, we gain a better understanding of the startling words of Hebrews 12:29, "Our God is a consuming fire."
Why did the author of Hebrews use such graphic imagery to describe the Lord? In his letter he was dealing with spiritual life-and-death issues—what his readers believed and the reality of their faith. Their response would reveal whether they were investing their lives in the kingdom that will last forever, or in the one destined for destruction.
We too need to remember that this world and all we possess are only temporary. If our faith and hope are in Jesus Christ, we are part of a kingdom that cannot be destroyed (v.28). Knowing that our days on earth are numbered and that "our God is a consuming fire," let us serve Him and invest in things that are imperishable. —Albert Lee
Our God is a consuming fire
And will destroy earth's temporal things;
He seeks to purify our lives
For service to the King of kings. —D. De Haan
Hold tightly to what is eternal and loosely to what is temporal.
posted by JPG at
10:14
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