All around us, people seem to be engaged in a lifetime search for meaning and fulfillment. Some are looking for it in other people, while others grasp for it through personal achievements. Still others think meaning can be found in material things. I have concluded that the answer can best be found through the use of three words: purpose, vision, and objective.

Purpose is what we want our life to add up to – and why. Vision follows in that it is seeing ourselves move toward the accomplishment of that purpose. Finally, objectives are measurable milestones as we are moving toward that purpose.

It is common as people come toward the close of their lives to look back and add up what they feel they have accomplished. I would submit that their tallies would be much greater if they had conducted their lives in reference to a clear understanding of their personal purpose.

There are four classic approaches we use to discover our purpose:

The first approach, deduction, actually is a “non-purpose.” This one, unfortunately, is the category most people fit into. They conduct their lives without any clear purpose or direction, with little or no thought as to what they are doing or why. Only later in life do they deduce what their purpose was, making it what we might call a “postmortem purpose.”

Second is association, in which people gain a sense of purpose through their associations in life – family, neighbors, business, church, or organizations they belong to such as CBMC or the Rotary Club. In complying with the corporate purpose of one or more of these groups, they gain an “adopted purpose.”

Third is emulation, in which people follow the model or example of others. Many of us have “heroic models” we seek to be like, whether it be emulating their hairstyles, manner of dress, or the ways they talk and act. The result of emulation becomes a “vicarious purpose.”

Fourth is personalization, which I believe is the only way of determining one’s purpose, the approach used by only a small minority of people. This involves developing deep, personal, purposeful concepts of what God wants me to do with my life.

In each of these approaches, however, a wrong purpose can be reached. It is important, therefore, that one arrive at his purpose not by technique, but by consulting the proper source. The only time that lasting and meaningful purpose will be found is if God is its Author and Source.

The Bible reveals that God’s purpose for His people has three dimensions: that which is ultimate, that which is universal, and that which is unique. God’s ultimate purpose includes the whole created order, of which we can catch only glimpses. By and large it is God’s “secret.” His universal purpose, however, is shared by all His people – to glorify God as we participate with Him in the process of being prepared for an eternity in heaven. God’s unique purpose takes into account the individual roles we fill in our lives, such as being a husband, father, son, brother, employee, and neighbor; our spiritual gifts; our temperament; skills; and the environment in which we find ourselves each day.

Once we realize that we each have a specific purpose, however, it is important that we keep a few things in mind:

• Purpose is not something we can measure, since it involves intangibles such as glorifying God and serving others.
• It is also a process which takes an entire lifetime, not an isolated event.
• There will never be enough time to do everything we would like to do, so we must realize it is God’s plan – and not ours.
• We each have a purpose, and as we strive to carry it out, it will always develop our dependence upon God.
• The longer we live, the clearer our purpose will become, even though we may never see exactly how it all will work out.

If we seek to determine God’s purpose for our lives, what can we expect? Several things, I believe – namely contentment, a clear focus for our lives, a recognition of our dependence upon God from day to day, and the ability to say at the end of our lives, “It is finished.”

Questions To Consider

The following are some questions you might consider in evaluating the direction you want your life to take from this point on:

1. What is the purpose for your life? What do you see as the purpose for your family, or for your relationship with your spouse?
2. What is the purpose for your job position?
3. If someone were to examine your calendar, entertainment activities, or checkbook, what would they communicate about how you perceive your purpose in life?
4. Are you more concerned with the product of your life, or the intangible process God is taking you through?
5. Are you content?

The world tells us that we should be motivated by discontentment, but the Apostle Paul wrote that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6).

Perhaps the bottom line question should be, do you want to be in the game of life, developing a deeper relationship with God in the process, or do you want to be a spectator sitting on the bench? From my observations, it’s apparent that 75 percent of the people we meet each day will never get into the game!

From Robert Tamasy, The Complete Christian Businessman (Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1991). © Christian Business Men’s Committee of the USA.    cbmc.com    Used by permission.   Content distributed by WorkLife.org > Used for non-profit teaching purposes only.