In Purpose, On Purpose
Ephesians 5:17
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Something that I love about our faith is the fact that it reveals purpose. Purpose is something that every human considers. It’s the spark that inspires science and exploration. It’s something our creator purposely placed deep on the inside of every man.
God is a God of purpose. He tries nothing. Every move He has made, every Word that He has spoken, is pointed and direct and most importantly, on purpose. The reason for this is because God is the embodiment of faith and faith itself is full of purpose. People often loosely say everything happens for a reason. What they really mean is, everything happens for some divine reason. People choose to believe this because in their minds it’s easier to believe that every bad thing that happens was divinely orchestrated, rather than to believe that there are things not in His control, but in ours. This is the battle God has had with humanity since the beginning of time.
The scripture I started with instructs us to know. Many people come to God for many reasons but I’ve seen these few years as a pastor that often that reason isn’t because everything is fine. Usually people live their lives for themselves and when they get tired of being bit by it, they seek out God. What a loving Father that He will accept you even when your motives at first aren’t for Him. A mistake that is often made however is that people, now saved, will often return to the same mess they always had (or aspects of it), all the while forgetting that God’s salvation is worth more than just showing up to church occasionally. The Word instructs us that we are to die to our old nature and be born into His. This is the very essence of what baptism is.
Yes we love to hear things like 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We forget though that some of what has to die is the way we used to live. You cannot be saved from your past, die to what held you before, receive a new life in Him and still do what you always did! I spent the first few years of serving God just getting things worked out of me instead of actually going anywhere. This is why it takes time to walk in the full blessing of God. The will of God is simple and those who are wise know it and practice it. It is to live for Christ in every aspect of your life! This where His purpose and His blessing are found.
Living for Christ is not a lesser life. It’s not boring or controlling, but in fact it is the only way to live truly free. If you saw someone in the winter time pushing a lawn mower while trying to clear their drive way of snow you’d think they were foolish. The intended purpose of a lawn mower is not snow removal! Yet Christians live like this continually, all the while confused as to why God’s Word “doesn’t work” for them. People come to God for help from the things that weren’t working, recognize His goodness and even at times His power, yet turn and still try to do things the same old way! It’s like a child standing next to the deep end of a swimming pool. They’ll stick a toe in but, maybe dangle their feet, but to jump right in, there ain’t no way! Meanwhile, our Heavenly Father is out there saying the whole time, “This is where it gets good!”
We all say, “God is good” but I’m telling you He really is. Don’t be afraid of the deep end. The truth is, you were drowning in the shallow end before. Jump all in to the deep place of our Lord with understanding. We don’t just have a God that will help you tread or float; we serve a God Who makes you walk on water!
Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff
