Names of God's Promises Excerpt:
Purpose
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. --Ephesians 2:10
We hauled the old couch out the door last night.
It’s been demoted, from the living room to the basement.
The cushions we once carefully guarded by banning all food and drink from
their presence will now be the dog’s winter sleeping quarters.
After all, its just the basement couch.
No one will care if red Kool-aid spills across its pillows, no one will
give a thought to the buttons on the back when they come loose.
After a few years in the basement it will be demoted again, this time to
the living room of some newlyweds, before making its final stop: the curb.
Carrying the old couch out the door brought back memories of when we carried it in.
We were so excited back then, before the cushions were barraged by baby
girl spit up and toddler potty
training accidents and the sodas I spilled while watching the Yankees.
(I tend to get a little excited during Yankee games.)
It was our first new piece of living room furniture, replacing the old
parent to newlywed hand-me-down my parents gave us.
It went to the curb. Out
with the old, in with the new.
Eleven years, four living rooms in four states, and four thousand miles in moving vans later,
the new couch was old, one step away from the curb.
The thought made me a little sad, not because I miss a sofa whose springs
have lost all their spring, but because of the futility of it all.
Furniture wears out. As do
televisions. And microwave ovens.
And cars. And houses.
And clothes. And our bodies. All of the things to which Western man devotes his time and
energy make the same journey from the showroom to the curb, with a few stops in
between. Carrying my old couch out
the door made me realize that we live in a culture where mankind’s only
purpose is to keep the trash collectors busy.
The thought made me depressed, until I turned to the promise of God.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do. --Ephesians 2:10
Long before wewere born again, long before we were born, long before the physical universe was
spoken into existence, God planned a life of purpose for you and me. His
plan results in a finished product that will never be set by the curb waiting
for the trash truck to haul it away. Jesus
promises that we can store up treasure in heaven by pursuing His kingdom.
This promise applies to more than a select few individuals.
God holds it out to everyone who is willing to embrace His Son.
God’s purpose for our lives is “to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to
do.” He started planning long ago
for us to do more than help an occasional old lady across the street or other
acts that might help us win a merit badge. While most of us struggle to find
more specific details, 1 Corinthians 6:20 gives us a simple formula for what He
has in mind for us, “You are not your own, you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body.”
Our purpose in this life is to use our bodies and all of our physical
resources to honor God. These are
the good works He created us to do.
Such simple instructions opens up a world of opportunities.
Anything and everything I do can be a part of the good works He prepared
in advance for me to do, when I do it for the glory of God.
Ultimately God wants me to use my life to point people to Him.
Your life and mine are to be like mirrors, reflecting God’s glory to
the people around us through our actions. As
others see our good works they won’t praise us but our Father in heaven
(Matthew 5:16). Ultimately, our lives should draw people to the Lord so that
they can find God’s purpose for their lives in Christ.
Looking across the street at the trash at the curb in front of my neighbor’s house makes the
whole idea of something better very appealing.
That is, until I read the fine print.
Actually the print isn’t fine at all.
I just don’t like what it says. At
least, not all the time. The fine
print informs me that living according to the promise of God’s purpose for my
life cannot be a part time pursuit. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after
me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke
9:23).” Every day I must make the same decision.
Deny self, take up my cross, and follow Christ, every day for a lifetime.
A life time! I cringe at the
thought of surrendering all of my
hopes and dreams for my life to the will of God.
That is, until I seriously consider the options.
Every one of us has two options lying before us. The
sum total of everything our lives accomplish will end up in one of two places,
the curb or heaven. Without the
promise of purpose there was only one option.
Everything would waste away, all of our efforts would be for nothing.
Now our Lord has promised us something far greater.
He promises us a life of purpose. God’s
plan can be difficult to pursue, and He does not force us to follow it.
But I do not want to stand at the end of my life and watch my life’s
work being compacted in the back of a trash truck.
Praise God He has other plans for you and me.
©1998 Mark A. Tabb
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