Aligning ourselves with God’s purpose for our lives is extremely important. When we come to Christ, he reveals himself as our savior and our Lord. For the rest of our time here on earth he will teach us how to surrender more and more of our lives to him. He wants us to be fully aligned with his plan and purposes and to walk in step with the Holy Spirit.
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:25 (NLT)
At work, if we understand the purpose of our employer, it helps us to get in line with company goals and focus on what is important to our boss. It is no different with Jesus and the kingdom of God. Our Lord told his disciples to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, not our own success or comfort. (Matthew 6:33) After the resurrection, the first apostles began to more fully understand what this means. Today we followers of Christ can also be slow to grasp what are God’s purpose for us and the church.
Many suppose that the gospel is primarily for us, but actually it is first and foremost for God. We live in a consumer culture in which we are trained to evaluate people, things, and groups in terms of how it benefits us.
Repentance essentially involves changing how we think.
Replacing society’s “me first” focus with prioritizing God and his desires is a big part of what it means to be transformed by the Spirit into a disciple.
Jesus died on the cross for us who believe, but that was not the main thing on his mind as he approached and endured that horrible agony. He was most concerned about pleasing his Father in heaven. His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane is the supreme example of embracing God’s will, no matter what the personal cost.
Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” Matthew 26:42 (NLT)
For us to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives, we, too, must surrender to God’s will for our lives.
Love
I love Bible verses that capture the simplicity of what it means to be a follower of Christ. One such is found in Paul’s First Letter to Timothy.
The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 1 Timothy 1:5 (NLT)
Paul’s admonition to Timothy and to all who would later be privileged to read his letter is to allow God to develop in us a heart motivated by God’s love.
God’s love is selfless and sacrificial, as evidenced by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It is also focused on God’s glory. Jesus kept his focus on pleasing his Father while holding on to the promise of glory which awaited him on the other side of the cross.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
Jesus told us that love sums up all of God’s commands. Love is not a feeling. It is a motivation to faith and good works. Our ability to trust God hinges on how trustworthy we think he is.
If we are convinced that the Lord loves us more than we love ourselves, we will be able to follow him to the cross.
If we are going to be used by God’s Spirit for ministry to others, he desires for love to be the basis for that, too. Jesus healed and set people free because his compassion motivated him.
A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”Mark 1:40-41 (NLT)
God’s love will never be content to simply feel empathy. It takes action.
The aim of the gospel is to produce in followers of Christ the kind of love that acts as God would.
It will reveal itself in love for God and our neighbor. It will be heartfelt and practical. It will be compassionate and selfless.
Purity of Heart
Where this love resides is also very important. Paul tells us that a pure heart is essential. In this he is in complete agreement with our Lord, who blessed the pure of heart.
God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 (NLT)
Purity of heart comes when our motives are clean and our devotion to God is real. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we are selfish beings. The essence of sin is when we self-direct our lives without reference to God and others. We refuse to be dependent on his Spirit. It usually takes a prolonged work of God’s Spirit to change us on the inside so that we begin to put God and others first. All of us followers of Christ are works in progress, but hopefully we are going forward. Really, only God knows the condition of our hearts, and we can be sure he is at work there continually. Only he can measure our progress.
Paul wrote in his First Letter to the Corinthians that all our works of faith and sacrifice are worthless in God’s sight unless they are motivated by love. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)
If we want to align with God’s purposes in the gospel, we will cooperate with God’s Spirit as he purifies our hearts to properly love God and people.
A Good Conscience
Secondly, our love should come from heart that is devoid of offense toward God and men. Jesus wants us to have clean consciences. This does not mean we are perfect, but it does require us to come into the light when we sin through confession and repentance toward God. It means that we are not covering our faults and sins with a layer of hypocrisy, pretending to be what we are not. It means we are working toward being more and more transparent and honest. This requires us to allow the Holy Spirit to work humility into our lives in an ever greater way, which is never easy.
A Sincere Faith
Thirdly, God wants our love to be motivated by a sincere faith. Such faith is free of self-promotion. It does not pretend to be something it is not. Its motives are pure.
Many people understand the concept of faith, which combines loyalty to Jesus with taking God at his word and acting on it, trusting that he will come through as promised.
Sadly, some of us use faith to obtain what we want instead of what God wants.
Although God loves to bless us, he is not primarily interested in making us wealthy and comfortable. He is much more concerned with developing our hearts to be like his.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29 (NKJV)
This process normally requires us to endure suffering from time to time, and, in some cases, extensively.
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2–4 (NLT)
A sincere faith focuses on what God wants, which includes personal transformation and the furtherance of his gospel and kingdom, not necessarily on what we may want for our personal comfort and ease.
When the gospel accomplishes its purpose in us, it brings glory to our Lord and a sense of peace and contentment to us, while it furthers the advance of God’s kingdom.
