Tempus Fugit

Living on purpose* is the only way to live; it's absence means only existing. This has given men the unquenchable desire to discover his purpose for our being, presumably to gain understanding to three basic questions: "Who am I?" "Do I matter?" and What is my place in life?"

Our life purpose gives us the passion for which has eternal value and not just the temporal, such as the desire to have something to help us pay the bills, go with the flow, climb the corporate ladder, and attend to endless daily responsibilities. Our life purpose will give us understanding of the present, which is temporary, so we can act towards the realization of the future, and that which has everlasting effect on our lives.

Having a good grasp of these life purposes will enlighten anyone who desires to make his or her present activities to be in line with God's purpose for his lives. Life, however, has everything that could confuse us and take our minds off from our real purpose for living. To ensure that we are always focused on our life purpose, Chapter 40 of The Purpose Driven Life, suggests that we create our purpose statement that:

Balancing Your Life

Two more days before our journey towards an understanding of our life purpose will come to an end. We have previewed how the five life purposes (offer real worhip, offer real fellowship, experience real discipleship, serve God, accomplish our God-given assignment) are made possible in our lives. These life purposes can be summed up into two things: loving God with all sincerity and loving others as we love our selves (the great commandment and the great commission). These life purposes, according to Dr. Warren in day 39 of The Purpose Driven Life, should be given equal significance so we could maintain balance in our Christian life.

"May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face shine on us—
 so that your ways may be known on earth,
   your salvation among all nations." Psalm 67:1,2

We have been destined to accomplish God' great commission-- that is to make every nation true followers of God (as conveyed in Matthew 28:19-20). This is our earthly assignment. As the number of books that are being published on this topic, so are the number of ways believers may reach people to share the gospel. Thanks to technology, what would take days or even months to convey to others years ago, would, at this time and age, be transmitted in split seconds. Before, people would even need to travel far or take several days to months to reach people, which were then considered "unreachable" (technically and literally speaking). Today, even remote places have easy access to whatever technology that we have in the cities. Furthermore, with the aid of information technology, every imaginable boundaries had been bridged and everyone may now be reached with just a push of a button. 

As a consequence of these innovations. comparisons today take on a world class level. The dictionary defines

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
   and the one who is wise saves lives."-- Proverbs 11:30 

Each of us has a story to tell and no other person has authority over our own experiences. Our life experience, from the moment we come to realize God's role and purpose in our lives, holds messages that can transform other lives as well.

Dr. Warren, in the 37th chapter of The Purpose Driven Life, calls it our "Life Message." Jeremiah 20:9 states, "But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire,  a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot." Once we really experience God's gracious love, He will give us the desire to share this wonderful experience with others as well.

Our life message has four parts, according to Dr. Warren:

    "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." Acts 20:24

Five more days before our journey to discover life's purpose will finally come to an end. The whole length of the journey provided us with bible-based understanding of the how's and why's of our being.

In the beginning, it was established that everything starts and ends with God. It is for this reason that we have been created in His likeness so that we could continue His mission as reflected in John 20:21 "...Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

In the past thirty-five days, we have also came to understand the first four of our life's purpose: 1) to offer real worship; 2)to offer real fellowship; 3) to experience real discipleship; and 4) to offer real service--each is part of the whole, and is interdependent with each other, and with the completion of all these processes we would be well-equipped to continue spreading God's word to others, which is the fifth and our final life purpose: to live out real evangelism.

How vital is our mission? What will it cost to follow our mission? These are the two questions that Day 36 of The Purpose Driven Life explores.

In my fifteen years as a Christian, I have shared the joy, as well as the pain, in continuing this mission, while being a part of a local mission group during my secondary and tertiary years and with my Christian colleagues while in the academe. God intends that our lifetime should be spent continuing this mission, however.