Your Purpose if You Should Accept it…

Your Purpose if you should accept it….

Recently my seventeen-year-old granddaughter hopped on a plane to visit my husband and me. She had graduated a year early and as a gift we bought her a plane ticket to Florida. One morning the subject of “what was next” for her was a riveting conversation. Not really, but I wanted to know.

She isn’t a legal adult yet; therefore, she still needed her mother’s permission for major life decisions, except to plan a vacation to Florida, she made all the decisions and put it in the calendar for her mother to notice. I knew my daughter noticed very late that evening when my alerts started going off asking if I had something to tell her. Luckily my daughter knew it would be good for my granddaughter to visit and enjoy a few days away.

As we discussed options it became very apparent that at seventeen, she wasn’t ready to hear what I had to say, about anything but especially plans for the future.

So as good Nana’s do, I dropped the subject but not before I was told, “What’s the use? You go to work to pay bills and then you die.”

She has been back home for over a month, at the time I was writing this and her statement has left a lingering cloud, so much so that I have really been pondering it because it saddens me that there are people out there that don’t find joy in their work.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand her statement. I remember a time when I felt like that as well. I had wondered, what’s the use, you go to work to pay bills. Luckily for me, a few years ago the Lord showed me a few verses in Colossians and Ephesians.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV)

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

Memorizing these verses has given my work and life a deeper sense of purpose. Whether I’m donning the roles of an author, speaker, or writer, serving as a caregiver and wife, or handling client paperwork, I strive to view all my tasks as part of a greater mission. Ultimately, my true boss—despite being self-employed—is the Lord.

If you are still trying to see how this fits into your life, let’s look at a couple of scenarios.

Are you the CEO of the home? Did you know that the world is fighting for the alliance of your family? As a Christ-follower CEO and wife you are the enemy that Satan needs to take you out so he can have your family and even your marriage. It is extremely important for you to see your worth as Christ does, even in the mundane jobs of doing laundry and keeping the home clean.

There are so many examples of other jobs that require you to leave your home every day and engage with the public, but I want to look at how being a clerk at a convenience store could be purposeful.

Do you know how many people in this career you may encounter in not only a week or a month, but over a year’s time? The number doesn’t matter for what I want to say because I want to look at how a scenario could play out if you asked God to show you your purpose in this job every day.

I want to talk about “the one”. You know, that young lady who walks in with her head down. She won’t make eye contact. Maybe her clothing could use a good washing or to find the closest trash compactor. If you truly see what you do as working unto the Lord, you will see this young lady as Jesus does. Maybe a lost soul is down on her luck. Or a woman who is contemplating leaving an abusive situation. You may never know, but your kind words, your smile, even your pleasant non-discriminating voice and nonjudgmental facial expressions give this her the hope needed to make it one more day. Your work matters.

In the next few days, I challenge you to see your everyday jobs and your daily life using the lens that the Lord uses when He looks at you.

When you see yourself as God does, prayerfully you will find that every single step and breath taken, has purpose. The last scripture I want to talk about and leave you with is from Matthew.

Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NLT

Did you know that as a woman who follows Christ, we are His disciples. A disciple is a follower or student of a teacher and or leader.

I think changing the famous quote from the movie Mission Impossible and ask this question… “Your Purpose, should you choose to accept it, will be…

Our job, even though we may think it’s the thing we do to earn an income, is not our true purpose while we are here on this earth. Your true purpose is to be a disciple maker at home and with those you encounter daily even if you are just used to drop a seed.

My prayer is that you will have a paradigm shift and realize what our bigger calling is, disguised in daily living and working.