Philippians 1:22 – 24 “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”
Paul had a clearly defined goal and purpose for living. He had a mission. And because of that mission, he wanted to keep living, in spite of the fact that being with Christ would be better by far! His goal was to share the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone. Period.
Far too many of us seem to drift through this life without a clearly defined reason for living. We have fuzzy ambitions, hazy aspirations. Yet, each of us needs a purpose, or we will feel useless and unappreciated. Without a clear cause, without a definite motivation for life, we can become depressed and disheartened.
I am convinced that we each need a mission statement. Whether we write it out or simply paste it onto our mental files, we need to establish our main purposes for living. Then, from time to time, we can evaluate our lives, and see how we are coming along. Paul knew that his mission was still in the process of being accomplished, and it gave him a reason to keep going. What is your mission? Are you headed in the right direction? If not, what do you need to do to change directions?
Dear Father, Thank you for placing in me the desire for a purpose. Please let my goals and ambitions honor You, and help me to accomplish them.
Amen
Excellent reminder, Renae. How will we know when we get there, if we haven’t had a clue where we were going.
When I was teaching Intro. to Journalism in college, I had the students condense their life mission to a sentence. I did this piece of homework, as well.
Not an easy task.
But it helped me contain in a nutshell what I wanted my life work to be.
Thanks for sharing your gifts of writing with us, R. And your insights on life.
jlo
thanks, renae! i needed this today–God is so good!