Purpose vs Achievement

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 NIV

“The two most important days in life are the day you born and the day you discover the reason why.” – Mark Twain

I believe God’s purpose is love. “For God so loved the world that he gave…” “Love never fails.”  “The one who fears is not perfected in love.” “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” But how God achieves or demonstrates his love is unique to each character in the Bible and unique to each of us. He created us, after all!

What is your purpose? Mine is to love and teach my children, grandchildren, employees and community. How do I achieve this? Through work, goal-setting, education, story-telling, saving, experiences and more. When my granddaughters were little, horses were one way I showed love. They learned to care for the horses by grooming, feeding, riding and praising the horses. They achieved many things with the horses but my purpose was to love and demonstrate love to them and teach love for God’s creation. I pray that when I’m gone, they’ll continue their purpose no matter they’re achievements.

One thing that is sure is we have a purpose no matter our stage in life, no matter our age, looks, disability or intelligence. When dust accumulates on the awards and trophies, our children have grown, health is fading, looks are gone, money is scarce, memory is faltering, purpose is still there. God helps us to continue until we’re with him in Paradise.

Musings

We get confused about purpose vs. achievement and sometimes we get off track with busyness. My purpose in writing this little devotion is to demonstrate God’s love for you. I achieve this by writing, researching, praying, sharing and paying for the blog service. If I fail, my purpose is still the same. I may need to find other ways to share God’s love but the purpose remains. Jesus’ purpose is to seek and save—the ultimate love. It still is. So is mine. So is yours. Our trophies, achievements and treasures are all laid down some day and we exchange it for a crown but our love will remain. Purpose.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for our achievements but especially thank you for our unique purpose. Thank you that you teach and encourage us in our purpose. Our achievements will differ according to our stage in life but our love for you and our purpose remains. Our purpose and yours is love.

Amen.