The Voyage of Discovery. Destination: purpose.
- Christine DiGiacomo
- 12 minutes ago
- 4 min read
podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/25114f64/the-voyage-of-discovery-destination-purpose
'I want to live a mediocre life,' said no one ... ever.
So, you got a new camera. Just holding it in your hands inspires greatness and maybe a little intimidation as you realize you don't know how to operate it. What to do? You look for the owner's manual of course, the operating instructions from the manufacturer. ->The designer and maker of the camera is the best one to tell you what it can do and how; the designer describes what the thing was meant to do...aye, its purpose!
When I lived in San Clemente, I had an artist friend who could create just about anything her mind could conceive - whether she was crafting jewelry, painting or sculpting. My favorite of her works was a beautiful sculpted figure of a woman, with strands of precious stones cascading in shades of translucent aqua’s to form an elegant skirt. One time she brought the lady to share with a class I was teaching. After unveiling it, I took comments and questions from the audience about the piece which were interesting, but nothing compared to when Liz stepped up and told us what she had in mind when she was creating her. Not surprisingly, the thoughts of the artist, the creator were quite different from those of anyone else. hmmm.
Friend, because we were intelligently designed and created by God, He is the Source of our unique purpose. And isn't it just like God to make us in his own image1 and imbue our lives with meaning and purpose? If you stop and think about it, God is quite interesting. He is delightful, generous and without equal! Because of who He is and our relationship with Him, our lives are meant to be creative, relational and life-giving.
Consider how Paul described this phenomenon:
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."2 The Greek word Paul used for workmanship is poema: simply, we are a poem crafted by God, and created for good works, which he had in mind before we were born. Yes, discovering our purpose is drawn directly from the careful design of God.
->God's purpose for you will bring honor to Him and encourage others.
I can think of no better illustration than this:
In September, 2006, I conducted my mother’s funeral. How I managed to do it is a story for a different day, but thorough consideration of Mom's life was a beautiful and clarifying experience for me. Why? Because my mom knew her purpose, and she passionately lived it out. (a simple, uneducated woman, she would not have articulated that in a 1000 years, but her life spoke, and she left quite a legacy). At her service, when children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews lauded her 90-plus years on this planet, two themes emerged:
*She loved God, and lived her life like she thought He would have wanted
*She loved others and took pleasure serving them. These two values, drawn from Jesus' teaching shaped her life into purposeful living. When one of the Jewish leaders asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest, he answered, "The most important one,”. . .“is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”3
To determine your God-given purpose, learn from my dear mother's legacy! And then, some thinking is in order, starting with the following: (by the way, this is just the beginning!)
Interview yourself. . .
How could you serve God by serving others... to use Paul's words, for 'what good work' do you think God may have purposed you?
_______________________________________________________
Think of Eric Liddell, the man/the missionary/the runner immortalized in “Chariots of Fire”, who said, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure...”
>How about you? “When I _________________, I feel God’s pleasure.” What do you enjoy doing? What comes naturally to you? With what ability/talent have you been gifted? ________________________
All of who we are committed to the Master Weaver will be shaped into our unique purpose - the reason we are here for such a time as this.
>I think my God-given purpose is:____________________________
Dream a bit now~ [please take some time with this; it is fun!]
>If only __________________________________, then I would love to _____________________________
>If I were to dream ‘big’, I could serve others by _____________________________
>Legacy: I would like to be remembered as a person who ________________ _____________________________
So dig,
dream,
think and
get intentional about searching out your God-given purpose
so that you can live on purpose and
experience the joy and satisfaction of a fulfilled life,
all while honoring God.
Let's do this. Let's get serious about living life on purpose.
A prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
It is hard for me to fathom that I was really created in your image. What does that mean, practically speaking? Could you show me what that ought mean to me?
And to think, that even before I was born, you had good things in mind for me to do, things to build up other people, to encourage them along their way - but not with anyone else's skillset, but with the view of the world you have given me, then placed me in the world I alone inhabit! Yes, you created, and you have never stopped creating.
Lord, will you take my failures, my struggles, along with my experience and the gifts you have given me and inspire me to help others?
Amen.
You, my friend, are God’s beautiful handiwork, his unique sculpture, his creative playwright meant to do great things – things designed for you before you were even born!
On purpose,
Christine
purpose, no.2
[pictured above:
teaching the Word in Edmond, Oklahoma]
1 - Genesis 1.26
2 - Ephesians 2.10, ESV
3 - Mark 12.29-31
Temple Mount. Jerusalem, Israel.
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