Life Purpose Image

At a recent speaking opportunity, I shared a specific image with the group to illustrate how I view living out my life purpose. This is a picture I believe God put on my heart ten years ago and it has motivated me since then. As I reflected on my presentation, I realized I had never fully described this image on the blog. I want to share it with you today, but before I get to the image, I want to set the stage.

If you have been reading my blog for long, you have likely read a post that contained the Greatest Commandment(s) and the Great Commission. These passages are found throughout my blog. It is in these two passages that I believe we are most clearly given our life purpose – not just for me, but for all disciples of Jesus.

What Does The Bible Say?

In the Greatest Commandment(s), we are told by Jesus that all of the law and prophets boil down to two commandments: love God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. If Jesus says these are the two greatest commandments, then I believe that is what my life is supposed to be about.

In the Great Commission, I believe Jesus tells us how we are to carry that purpose out in our daily lives. When you look at the original language, the “Go” actually would be better translated into “As you go…” or “As you are going…” and includes all that we do as we move through this life on earth.

“As we go,” through life – at home, work, school, etc. – we are to make disciples of all nations. This is not a suggestion from Jesus. This does not only apply to those we think have the “gift” of evangelism. No, it is for anyone that calls themselves a disciple of Jesus and it applies to any and every vocation.

My Life Purpose

Having said all of that, I believe it is my purpose in life to love God, love others, and make disciples of Jesus. I think it is really that simple. I also think that is your life purpose. I believe these passages apply to all of us – the differences between you and me is how we carry out this purpose.

For me, I believe I am to carry out my life purpose (at least for this season) by operating a business as ministry in order to impact people for eternity. I believe that it is my job in the marketplace to run this business in a way that maximizes the eternal return for its Owner rather than the temporary return for my family, the temporary stewards of the business. If I do this, I believe I will hear the words that drive me…”Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Work Tested By Fire

The last piece of setting the stage comes from Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. In this passage, Paul describes the foundation of Jesus in our lives. On top of that foundation, Paul says we will build our lives. He talks about how everything we build will be tested by fire on the day of judgment.

If what we have built survives the fire, then we will be rewarded. If what we have built with our lives is burned up in the fire, then we will still escape, but just barely. As you think about this passage, also think about what you are building with your life. Will it burn in God’s fire or will it survive?

My Picture

So, in light of that passage, I want try to describe the picture God has given me and what it means to me today. It is this picture that drives me and keeps me going when everything around me makes me want to quit.

In our business, we have four buildings in a row on 15 or so acres and they are all adjacent to each other. Normally, this property is busy and lively with cars and people everywhere. But that is not the way it looks in the picture I want you to imagine.

The Results

Instead, the property – all 15+ acres – is completely scorched. There is nothing left from the buildings. There are no cars or trucks remaining, not even those steel racks we use on the front line to display cars. I will say it again, there is nothing but black earth. It has ALL burned in the fire.

Intuitively, I know that this also means that any and all bank accounts are gone. They have burned up as well. Nothing remains from the 3+ generations of our family business…except one thing.

Silhouettes

As I scan the property, I see silhouettes…hundreds of them, maybe more. I realize that these are silhouettes representing those souls that we have impacted for eternity because of the way we have decided to run our business.

As I first considered this picture in my mind, it all clicked. In turning our business over to God, I realized that He was going to use it to draw people toward Him. It was these people that made up the silhouettes and they were the only part of our work that would last into eternity. All of our bank accounts, all of our buildings, and all of our cars would burn up in the fire, but those souls (silhouettes) would be all that remained.

My Daily Goal

I then realized that my goal every day was to wake up and go to work for the purpose of adding to those silhouettes. That is what drives me. That is how I believe I am to live out my life purpose. It is this picture that keeps me going when everything else tells me to quit.

Can you get a clear view of this picture in your life?

What would be different about your picture?

What do you need to do to better live out your life purpose?