Living Life with Purpose is a Process with Great Potential

The Purpose:

The ultimate purpose is to love the Lord with all of who we are (the first and greatest commandment) which spills over into loving people (the second commandment). Jesus couldn't have been any clearer about it in Matthew 22:37-40 when He said, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

The Process:

Love is at the end of a list of qualities that must be built into our lives (2 Pet. 1:5-8). To get there, we must "make every effort" to keep progressing toward this ultimate purpose. We must say with the Apostle Paul, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" (Phil. 3:12-14).

The Potential:

If you go through the process, living life with purpose (love), you will be effective. There will be a spiritual productivity in your life that makes a difference. See 2 Peter 1:8.

The Problem:

If we get our eyes off of what Jesus did for us, the ultimate expression of love (Jn. 15:13), we will not reach our potential (2 Pet. 1:9). Notice how perseverance is in the middle of the process. If we lose our focus and do not persevere, we will not make it to love. And, without love, all our efforts are meaningless. We "gain nothing" (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

The Plan:

The plan then, must be to "fix our eyes on Jesus" so that we can "run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Heb. 12:1-2). He went before us, setting an example for us to follow.

The Power:

Jesus, however, is more than a standard. He is our power source. "His divine power has given us everything we need" (2 Pet. 1:3). Fixing our eyes on Jesus is more than looking at or following His example. Jesus Himself said, "Apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn. 15:5). As a branch pulls on the sustenance and strength of the vine, so we must look to Jesus if we have any hope of living life with purpose and making a difference.

 

 

Can you begin to fathom the impact that everybody living life with purpose would have on your church’s life and on the lost world around us?
 
The Living Life with Purpose Curriculum is a tool for helping individuals in your church reach their potential in loving God and loving people in all aspects of their lives. But, it will take more than a curriculum for people to line up with God's purposes.
 
As a church we must teach about God's purposes but we must also model it in the decisions and ministry of the church. The Church Purpose Ministry Manual, based on the online training on the church's purpose, could be a tool for your leadership team to work through living life with purpose as a church in order to make a greater difference.