LIVING A LIFE WITH PURPOSE

When I was in grade eight I remember the teacher, Mrs Lindsay, asking 'Why are we born?'

I remember most of the answers as she went around the room were, "to get married" or "to die."
I said, "to learn". She must have liked that (well, any teacher would, right?) because she asked me,
"Who told you that?"
I said, "No one. It's just what I think."

I still think that. Only I think the best mentor is Jesus. I didn't know that in eighth grade.

I haven't been particularly cagey about my faith in this blog, but I've also not been too outspoken either, because I want this blog to be accessible to anyone and not to shut some folks out because I'm preachy or 'religious'. That's pretty much how I live life too... I believe in and love the Creator God - YAWEH, and His son Jesus, and I am blessed to know something of His Holy Spirit. Growing in this Faith has been my purpose for over half of my life... and before that I struggled with low self-esteem, loneliness, hypocrisy. It took some years being a Believer before I overcame the struggles, and life still throws curves I don't expect, but I've learned to be grateful for the curve balls and to trust God is in those too. After all, for me personally, I'm here to learn, and challenge and surprise are good learning tools. But I digress...

I want to write about living with purpose because I've been reading a book called The Real Face of Atheism by Ravi Zacharias and he describes the despair that Atheism leads to ... inevitably. He discusses what I've been suspecting. At the root of the teen/twenty-something generation today is a despair, that is rooted not in joblessness but in the barrenness of a life view that suggests life is random, accidental.

I believe we are all brought to this earth for a purpose, both individually and corporately. To say we are here to glorify God may annoy those without that Faith; fair enough. But to say we each are unique and have gifts to develop and share can perhaps resonate with anyone. That's what I believe.

I think there is right and wrong, I believe in absolutes, I trust in a Creator who is sovereign and loving. But apart from all of that, I believe when we have purpose in our lives we find incentive, joy and hope. And without that, I too would despair.

So, for the youth of today I hope we can give them a break and not push Atheism or religion, but hope... and faith... to encourage them to search for Truth. That will give them the freedom to form a world view that gives purpose to this world and so to them, as creatures in it.