Purpose is a pretty big idea. When we talk about “understanding your purpose in life,” the subject can seem kind of insurmountable.
A while back, I was involved in a Christian outreach project with the Jewish community. They weren’t sure if they trusted my intentions, so they invited me to meet with the local Jewish Federation. A rabbi who was concerned that the “outreach” was a veiled attempt to proselytize Jews wanted to corner me with a question that might reveal any hidden agenda on my part. He asked, “What do Christians believe will happen at the end of time?”
Hmmm…. I had to scratch my head for a second on that one. “Well,” I answered. “It depends on who you ask. There are probably as many answers to that question among Christians as there are among Jews. The bottom line is that you’re Jews and we’re Christians. You’re waiting for the Messiah to come; we’re waiting for Him to come back. Fortunately, our project isn’t focused on the end of time, and frankly, we have our hands full trying to get everyone to agree on what will happen next Tuesday.”
I don’t know if my answer satisfied him or confused him. Either way, it got me through the meeting. They agreed to work with us and the project was a success.
“What is going to happen at the end of time?” is a pretty big question. I figure that if I can successfully traverse the few days between now and next Tuesday, I’m that much closer to finding out what happens at the end of time; whether it’s the end of time in general or just mine personally.
Taking on a subject like, “What’s my purpose in life?” is kind of like taking on, “What’s going to happen at the end of time.” They’re both pretty big ideas. It’s a whole lot easier to ask, “What’s my purpose today?” and “What’s going to happen next Tuesday?”
I wrote earlier that God and I had made a deal about how I could follow His lead without getting lost. He would point me in the right direction and give me something to do each day. He didn’t tell me exactly how everything would work out “at the end of time” or even what I’d be doing six months from now. Just which direction I should be pointed in and what I was supposed to do that day.
He’s been faithful about keeping up His end of the bargain. I know which direction I’m supposed to be pointed in. Whenever I veer off course He always gives me a little correctional bump. The bumps aren’t even that hard; I guess that’s His mercy showing.
He’s saved me from a lot of heartache and wasted time through those little bumps. Looking back, I shudder when I imagine where my off-course path would have taken me. Thankfully, the correctional bump usually nudges me back on course before I’ve made too much of a mess of things.
It’s the same way with what I’m supposed to do. Each day I know exactly what I need to do and each day’s task is plenty. There’s a pattern too. What I do today will be necessary for what He wants me to do tomorrow. Tomorrow’s tasks will prepare me for the next day, and so on.
I don’t think I’m on this plan because God changes His mind each day about what I’m to do with my life or that He wants to keep His options open. As a matter of fact, the Bible says just the opposite. God knew us before we were born. His purpose for you and me individually was included in the master plan of the universe. Even better, according to Paul’s letter to the Romans, God actively participates in guiding our daily activities according to the plan.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
I think the reason He doesn’t give me the whole plan in one shot is that it wouldn’t do me any good. He knows that my knowing exactly how my life will turn out, what day I’ll die or what day Jesus will come back, won’t help me get my job done today. It’s my limitation, not His. I couldn’t handle it. It’s too much information and knowing it would only add distraction to the task at hand.
*****
Elaine and I have a motorhome. Whenever we can, we use it for travel and lodging instead of flying or driving a car and staying in hotels. We’ve flown a lot and stayed in a lot of hotel rooms in the past. We choose the motorhome.
Before a trip I’ll use a computer program to make a detailed plan of our route, with turn by turn instructions, pre-planned stops, estimated times of arrival, road construction warnings, places to buy fuel; everything planned out in detail from the time we leave the house, to our final destination and back to the house again. When I print out the plan and the detailed maps it usually takes up about six or seven pages. I staple them together and viola! I have our entire trip, down to the last detail. I can skip ahead and find out exactly what time we’re supposed to arrive at each destination, how much fuel we’ll use, and if there’s going to be road construction in Cincinnati. I pack the plan in my briefcase with the rest of my stuff and we’re off!
Here’s the problem.
A few hours into the trip I come across an unfamiliar road sign or turn-off. I ask Elaine to look at the plan and tell me what to do. First she has to find the plan. No … first she has to find the briefcase.
We’re rolling at sixty-five miles per hour, decision time is coming up fast and we’re still looking for the briefcase. Seconds are ticking off the clock before I have to go left or right, Elaine finds the briefcase and finally finds the plan. By this time we’re both flustered and the “go-left, go-right” sign is right in front of us. I say to Elaine, “Which way do I go, left or right?” She says to me, “Which page of the plan are we on?”
The plan tells me every detail, beginning to end and back to beginning again. At the moment though, it’s not doing me much good. I just need to know left or right - right now. It’s in the plan, but the plan’s just too much information for me at the moment.
Our friends, Jack and Gayle Kinsella, travel by motorhome too. Jack has a thing called a “Tom-Tom.” Tom-Tom is a little trip planning computer with a screen that sticks to the windshield of his motorhome with suction cups. It does the same stuff my trip planning program back home does.
Jack puts his desired stops and his final destination into Tom-Tom just like I do with my program. Tom-Tom computes every detail, turn by turn, stop by stop; just like my program does.
There are some important differences though, between Tom-Tom and my program. The first is that Tom-Tom goes with Jack and Gayle on their trip. If they run into a glitch, Tom-Tom re-computes and gives them new directions. The second is that Tom-Tom has a built in global positioning system and an electronic compass. It uses satellites to triangulate its exact location at all times and the compass shows which way it’s headed. Since Tom-Tom is with Jack and Gayle at all times, they always know where they are and which way they’re headed too. Knowing exactly where you are and which way you’re headed can be very useful on a long trip.
The third thing Tom-Tom does, and most important to me, is give Jack specific directions exactly when he needs them. One hundred yards before Jack needs to turn left, Tom-Tom will say (yup, it speaks), “Turn left in one-hundred yards.” Just in case Jack’s attention span doesn’t last one-hundred yards, Tom-Tom will do a little countdown for him. “Turn left in fifty yards.” “Turn left in twenty-five yards.” “Turn left in ten yards.” “Turn left NOW.”
I’m getting a Tom-Tom.
*****
That’s why I think God made the deal with me. He knows that having every detail of His entire plan for my life printed out and stapled together wouldn’t do me a lot of good in the short run. What I really need to know each day is, “Do I turn or right or left?” Fumbling around with a turn by turn plan of my life trying to find today’s direction would just confuse me. I’d be on page eight instead of page two and make the wrong turn. Too much information.
The important things for me to know are: 1) There is a plan from start to finish. God planned the route, complete with turn by turn directions, rest stops, and fuel consumption. He knows what I’ll need to get to where I’m going and how long it will take to get there. 2) He’ll always provide me with the turning instructions I need when I need them and a compass so I can always see which way I’m headed. If I screw up, He’s already got the contingency instructions in the system to put me back on the route.
The lesson I learned from this is that the result of the entire trip is contained in the turn by turn instructions, not in the general overview of the trip as a whole. In my attempt to see every detail of the entire trip in advance, boiled down into six pages of turn by turn instructions, I was missing the turns. It’s in the turns that the trip is made.
If I miss a turn because I’m not paying attention to where I am right now, and if I don’t correct and get myself back on the route, I’ll never get to my intended destination. I’ll eventually come to the end of my trip, even if I don’t follow the turn by turn directions; all trips come to an end. I’ll reach a destination; it just won’t be the destination intended when I began the trip.
The great fear, the great tragedy would be to find myself at the end of a road that goes nowhere; out of fuel, out of time … my trip ended unexpectedly, but ended nevertheless.
I know that God has a purpose for my life and I know that He has chosen me alone to fulfill this unique purpose. Just like he has chosen you to fulfill yours. Our trips have been planned in advance. To have faith that the plan and purpose for my life has already been mapped out is not the same as trying to see the end of my trip from where I am now. That’s the faith part.
And because God has already planned and purposed my life doesn’t mean that the outcome is inevitable. It’s up to me to follow the turn by turn instructions. That’s the free will part. In His love for me, even though He pre-ordained my existence, He still allows me to decide whether to accept it or not.
Let’s get back to where we started. Understanding your purpose in life is a pretty big idea. If you try to see the big picture and all of its details before you’re willing to commit to the first turn, then I’m afraid you might miss the specific instruction for the first turn. Is it left or right?
Thanks to our faith that God does have the big picture, complete with turn by turn instructions in His mind, and using His Word as our compass, we are free just to trust in each turn by turn instruction as it comes.
I can see a kind of confidence in Jack that’s been built after using Tom-Tom for a while. Tom-Tom already knows where he is, Jack just enters in where he wants to go. After that Jack doesn’t worry so much about the final destination anymore, he just concentrates on following each instruction as Tom-Tom gives them and keeps an eye on the compass.
It’s enough for me to know that God has my purpose in His mind. It’s enough for me to know which direction I’m pointed and to follow instructions as they come. I know that if I do just that, the rest of the trip will take care of itself and I’ll reach my final destination. It’s wonderfully reassuring to know that if I miss an instruction or deliberately choose my path finding ability over His, He already has a contingency route mapped out for me when I come to my senses and realize I’ve screwed up.
And at the end of it I’ll be able to look back and see that the entire trip was after all, in the turn by turn instructions.
