Day Twenty-Two | March 18 TWENTY-TWO

Purpose

“I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy his marvelous Presence.” – Christopher Columbus –

In that thin space between sleeping and waking is the wispy gray of twilight. Not quite alert, not quite awake, we are just a shell of who we will later be. With our showers and toast, and morning cups of co ee comes a new person: driven, aware, ready.

For too many of us, though, twilight lingers. Yes, we are up. Yes, we are dressed. Yes, we are ready for the day, but we’re not quite sure why. We go through the motions. We know what’s expected, but it all seems so pointless: another meeting, another project, another party, another call. Like an unending

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

circus train, we watch our lives speed past us, and we feel powerless to do anything about it. So we survive another day only to repeat it tomorrow.

But what if life didn’t have to be like that? What if we could live with meaning and passion and with transcendent purpose every day? What if even the most menial of tasks could take on eternal significance?

Such is the life for which we were created. Such is the life to which we’re called. Such is the life of those whose purpose is found in Christ – enjoying His marvelous Presence. It is a life of being fully human, of being fully used, of being fully awake. It is a life lived in mission and service to others. No longer is the bottom line or report card the measure of our worth, for it is found in the cross of Christ. No longer does the latest fad or fastest gizmo consume us, for it is now God that fills us up. It is Jesus who provides our purpose.

What, then, is required of us, and what’s the point? The prophet Micah tells us: “To work justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God”

(Micah 6:8). It is to make the most of life by making the most of the moments that make up our lives: loving God and loving our neighbors.

So, wake up. Stir from your slumber, you who sleepwalk through life. Rise and greet the day ... and make it the mission field God has always intended it to be.