Align Your Purpose to God's
Shifting Your Resolutions to Join God's Kingdom Agenda
On January 20, 1961, President-elect John F. Kennedy Jr. spoke these words now forever embedded in the American conscience,
“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
His hope was to inspire a new era a public engagement and civic action.
On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his now famous, “I Have a Dream Speech” on the mall in Washington, D.C. Before he concluded that speech with his compelling list of dreams, he spoke these words,
“You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.”
The corporate dream for justice in America would be fulfilled through the personal, selfless service of its citizens.
Neither Kennedy nor King sought to inspire their listeners toward greater self-actualization, but instead moved a nation forward by tapping into something greater than personal goals.
‘TIS THE SEASON FOR RESOLUTIONS
This is the season for New Year’s resolutions, for goal setting, and for aspirations of self-improvement. Books, articles, and podcasts will be dedicated to helping people improve themselves.
Pastors even weigh in with inspiring sermons about how congregants can find and pursue their purpose in life.
Goals are good. And discovering one’s purpose in life is essential, but Jesus shows us a different way.
He told his disciples,
“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34
His personal fulfillment was discovered in fulfilling the will of the Father.
Jesus’ personal fulfillment was discovered in fulfilling the will of the Father.
When he taught his disciples to pray, he said,
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10
The model prayer was to move the disciples toward the kingdom of God, onto God’s agenda.
WHAT EVIL WILL DIE?
What happens when we align our aspirations, goals, and habits around God’s kingdom agenda for our community?
What happens when we align our aspirations, goals, and habits around God’s kingdom agenda for our community?
When Jesus met blind (and very loud) Bartimaeus, he asked, “What do you want me to do for you? ” He replied, '“Rabboni, I want to see.” Mark 10:51
Isn’t that great! Bartimaeus wanted to see, and Jesus gave him sight.
At the end of this coming year, what evil will die and what new life will break through because you joined Jesus’ kingdom work in your community?
What evil will die and what new life will break through because you joined Jesus’ kingdom work?
Rather than building your own kingdom, how could you reorient your life this year to discover and join what God is doing to restore what sin has stolen from your neighbors and in your neighborhood?
BEYOND CHARITY
You may think this means volunteering at a local charity, and it may. But what if you moved beyond the transactional gift of a financial contribution or volunteer hours?
What if you worked all year with just one family to get a new start, a local school find new levels of success, a local leader get a second wind, or a pastor’s family discover fresh hope in ministry?
What if you asked, “What do you want?” and then worked to help other people and other organizations be successful and to break the cycle of brokenness that robes them of God’s best?
Here are a few practical possibilities:
Mentor a student. Meet weekly to talk about life and the Lord.
Adopt a young family. Intentionally invest in a family through monthly meals, shared experiences, and deepening relationship.
Host a neighborhood dinner to build and develop meaningful friendships.
Adopt a local leader. Perhaps you know an educator, business owner, or public sector leader that you could pray for, encourage, and support in specific ways.
Build a learning community. If you enjoy cooking, money management, music or arts, programming, etc., invite others who want to learn those skills to join you for an experience together. It could be a one-time event or a monthly meeting.
Adopt first-responders. Take a year to invest in specific, practical, and regular ways in the local fire, ambulance, or police department.
Serve senior adults. Find ways to serve and build relationships with older adults in your community.
The list could go on, but the goal is to move into the lives of other people who need the help and hope of Jesus. So, we stop, and ask the people around us, “What do you want?” and then we respond by giving of ourselves as we join what God wants to do in their lives.
When the success of others is our aim, God uses us to restore what sin has stolen, and to display the beauty and goodness of his kingdom reign in our communities.
When the success of others is our aim, God uses us to restore what sin has stolen, and to display the beauty and goodness of his kingdom reign in our communities.
If your New Year resolutions center around your personal aspirations, maybe it’s time to rethink your real purpose in life.
So, make this year the year you stop asking how you can be a better version of yourself, and begin asking how you can join Jesus in rebuilding a people for his own glory. That will make the new year happier for a lot more people now and forever.
If this post is an encouragement, please pass it along to others.
PICTURE OF THE WEEK
EVERYONE’S WILSON | THE EVERYONE’S WELCOME NETWORK
I’m the Executive Director of Everyone’s Wilson and The Everyone’s Welcome Network—a platform for Gospel transformation in local communities.
Our mission is to unite the Church to engage the community, so everyone thrives.
Very simply, we’re passionate about helping Jesus-loving people live like missionaries in their local community through prayer, service, evangelism, and collaboration.
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