He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Ephesians 1:4
When I was ten years old, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, and I decided I wanted to be the first female player in the Major Leagues. I often pretended I was playing first base just 90 feet down the line from Darrell Porter, the MVP catcher from that series.
And who hasn’t pretended to be a famous singer, using a hairbrush for a mic?
My sister and I played school a lot, too. But because both my parents were teachers, for some reason that made me want to be anything but a teacher.
(Guess what I am now— a teacher, of course.)
What did you want to be?
We all have dreams as kids. Some are silly and unlikely; some are very much possible. But we all face obstacles in life too, and sometimes we react to setbacks by becoming depressed and giving up or by getting angry and becoming bitter— none of which helps us either to achieve our dreams or to find contentment in more realistic pursuits.
What if we responded to setbacks by asking God where HE wants us to go from here; what dream HE has for us?
Sometimes we feel we have no purpose or there’s no point to our lives; or we may run out of purpose when the kids graduate or when we retire; but God always has a purpose for the things He does, including creating you.
And whether or not we have a sense of purpose, we’re all pursuing something. We all spend our time, energy, and resources on something. Do you have a sense of purpose about the thing you’re pursuing?
Recently a friend pointed out that when we ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, we ought to be encouraging answers like, “I want to be kind,” or “I want to be a good father,” or “I want to be a Christian.” But we’re really asking what career they want to pursue, leaving the impression that the career, or the money they can make from it, IS the purpose. What if we taught them to pursue a career that they can use to live out their God-given purpose?
Maybe when kids get old enough, we ought to change the question to: what is your purpose in life? If you know your purpose, that ought to affect decisions about what you pursue.
Earthly purposes can be evil— to get revenge or hurt an enemy. Earthly purposes can be simply selfish— to gain wealth or maximize one’s own pleasure. Earthly purposes can be altruistic— working for a charitable cause or leaving the world a better place by raising good children.
But if we don’t include God in the picture, isn’t it all just temporary and pointless?
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:11
Think about it. Everything that God created has its intended purpose. Humans and angels were given the free will to turn away from those purposes, but to do so is folly. If a cat had free will and, rather than catching mice decided to try and scare off intruders by meowing loudly, he wouldn’t be very effective. He would be working at cross purposes with God.
What a shame it would be to live life at cross purposes with God! Whether all your dreams are coming true or you’ve been disappointed by life, don’t miss the dreams and plans that God has for you.
Our church had a youth minister who used to ask the kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up,” The kids would respond, “A Christian!” When we get that part right, it puts all our other pursuits in perspective.
All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. 1 Corinthians 9:25-26a NLT
by Christie Cole Atkins
Dear God, some of us have more dreams than we could ever live out and others of us have little sense of direction or of what we want to do with our lives. Yet we know that You have a plan for each of us and that Your plan is best. Help each of us to submit humbly to what You have revealed in scripture, and lead each of us to live out the purposes that You have for us. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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