God's Daring and Surprising Chase (Which Gives Your Life Purpose)
Whether you have a desire to know God or not, we all long to have a sense of purpose and call in our lives. How can you possibly know your purpose in life?
The premise of this weekly newsletter is to make knowing God simple.1 This month, I am sharing three initial steps to know God. You could argue the order, but each of these is key to knowing God:
The Bible isn’t a convoluted ancient text. Do you know how to understand the Bible?
God wants to speak to you. Do you know how to hear God’s voice?
You are a unique creation of God. Do you know God’s purpose for your life?
This is the third and final in this series. How do you know God’s purpose for your life?
You Are God’s Design
How can I know God’s purpose for my life? I answer this question with trepidation because it is the subject for philosophers and theologians for centuries, but there how we view it today is much different than a monk from the 6th, 11th, 15th or even 18th century.
It is also such a personal question with HUGE implications. This is the case in my life. I began asking it as a young adult, and still wrestle with it in my life today. Purpose and call is fluid, yet there is also constancy to it.
We find this stability in the beginning, as God is creating everything. God designed each of us with purpose and for a purpose.
This purpose is two-fold:
The introduction of sin to the world turned this two-fold purpose on its head. We shifted from glorifying God to glorifying God's creation, our creation, and ultimately, ourselves. When humanity began glorifying anything above God, we turned our unique God-given abilities to honor ourselves.4
Jesus came to earth to rescue humanity from itself. Like all of humanity, Jesus’ purpose was to glorify God, but expressly set up God’s Kingdom on earth by God coming to earth, living a perfect life, suffering and dying at the hands of the Jews and Romans, rising three days later, and ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
Jesus came to save you and restore your purpose.
Here is another way of describing this: We all chase something, yet God chases after you, so turn to chase God’s call.
The Chase
Let me give you an example of what this looks like from the life of Matthew, Jesus’ disciple. In one verse, Matthew describes his conversion from chasing his glory to submitting to God's call to glorify God with his unique gift.
Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.
-Matthew 9:9 MSG
Let me break this down into the three stages we must wrestle through to find God's unique purpose or calling for our lives.
1. We all chase something.
“Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew.”
Matthew was a tax collector. If you’ve been around church, you know the tax collector5 was one of the most hated personalities in the New Testament. We’ll get to why they were so hated (and it goes far beyond that nobody enjoys receiving their tax bill), but let me tell you how the typical tax collector found their job.
In short, the Roman government sold or auctioned off a geographical area to individuals to collect taxes in that region. In theory, the value of the sale of that region would approximate the amount of taxes available over the next few years. The estimate of the total taxes was based on public work projects, so the tax collectors were more than the Roman IRS; they were also general contractors responsible for beginning and finishing these projects.
So what made Matthew (and Wee Little Zacchaeus, as we read later in Luke 19) so hated?
Once a tax collector had won the right to collect taxes in a region, their only requirement was to collect enough taxes to pay the amount they bid to become the tax collector in that region. There was no restriction on what a tax collector could charge the individuals in his area. He could overcharge anyone on their taxes.
Any excess tax collected was not refunded; it became pure profit, which is how many tax collectors operated.
So why were tax collectors so hated? They not only worked for and with the Romans (an occupying, enemy state), but they cheated their fellow countrymen for their own gain.
We all chase something.
Based on his position, Matthew chased power, wealth, and all that came with them. On the one hand, Matthew is very talented. Just consider all he did in his position as a publican:
He worked as a general contractor.
He was multilingual in Aramaic and Greek.
He kept the books on what he owed to the government and what was owed to him as a tax collector (and ostensibly knew how much he had overcharged people).
He made the Romans happy and appeased the Jews enough to pay their taxes.
He was a gifted writer and storyteller (as we see in his Gospel).
He juggled all of these balls in the air at once.
Matthew was gifted and talented but used his gifts and abilities for honor and glory. He was greedy, lied, and betrayed his people. Each of us has a similar story. We’ve all used our gifts and abilities for selfish purposes. We all chase something.
What are you chasing?
You have amazing gifts and talents. We all do. Your gifts are as unique as your face and fingerprints. You aren't alone if you are using your gifts and talents to build your own honor and glory. However, if you use your unique abilities for dishonorable purposes, God hasn’t given up on you.
I know this because God didn’t give up on Matthew. More personally, God didn’t give up on me.
2. God is chasing you.
“Jesus said, ‘Come along with me.’”
Matthew’s story is your story. It’s my story. Each of us is fallen and sinful, so first and foremost, our bent is to use our gifts for our benefit. But Jesus chased Matthew, and Jesus chases you.
Above, I highlighted Jesus’ call to Matthew—come and follow me. But I want you to notice a little phrase from the first sentence of this verse:
“Jesus saw…”
What a powerful little phrase!
First, Jesus noticed Matthew. When so many would actively work to avoid the tax collector, Jesus noticed and went to Matthew. I don’t know what your background is; I don’t know the things you’ve done, but God sees you and all you’ve done (or not done) with compassion.
Second, Jesus saw all of who Matthew was. He didn’t just see the tax collector who cheated his own people and colluded with the Roman government. Jesus saw the person God created to do amazing and wonderful things. Jesus saw the man who would write one of history's most read works of literature. Jesus sees the potential within you and the things you will one day accomplish for His glory!
Third, Jesus saw and chased Matthew even when Matthew pursued everything antithetical to God's glory. When we see a greedy, lying, corrupt, and heartless sinner, God sees the potential of a brilliant, strategic networker for His kingdom. Jesus sees and chases you, too.
Jesus calling.
Ah, but Jesus didn’t just see these things in Matthew; he called him to follow along. While none of the disciples were the natural choices for the followers of the Son of God, Matthew may have been the biggest surprise. The other disciples were fishermen and anti-Roman activists, but Matthew was a tax collector!
God doesn’t just see you and all your potential; he is calling you to follow him, too.
This is your primary purpose—to follow Jesus. At the same time, there is much more to what God is calling you to specifically. If it ended with faithfully following Jesus, you would be a success.
Following Jesus means honoring God and giving him glory. It means living humbly with others who follow Jesus, those who are far from God, and everyone in between. It means being brave enough to honor God when it isn’t convenient or comfortable. Following Jesus isn’t a day of the week but a way of life.
But understand this: It doesn’t start with you. God chases you first. So, all of us have a choice to make.
3. The choice to chase God’s call.
“Matthew stood up and followed him.”
The series The Chosen does an excellent job of depicting Matthew. The phrase above suggests that Matthew chose to follow Jesus in a moment, and it’s possible he did. However, Matthew had likely been following Jesus from a distance, learning more about this eccentric, itinerant preacher.
In a sense, the chase may well have been on for a while.
Matthew leaped to follow Jesus regardless of how it went down. He left behind his business to travel the country with Jesus. I don’t want you to miss that, though, Matthew left his business, he never stopped using his gifts and abilities. He simply began using them in new ways for God’s glory.
The message for us is clear. When we begin following Jesus, we don’t leave our gifts behind. We pick our unique talents and abilities to use them for God’s glory. This can take place in a church, ministry, or Christian setting, but more likely, you will use these gifts in the world you live and work in.
Your call in the world.
Matthew may have been one of Jesus’ most educated disciples. This put him in a unique position to record and share the story of Jesus with the world. And as a Jew, Matthew shared his story in a way that would relate best to the Jewish people. This was the world Matthew lived in.
Years ago, I stepped out of full-time ministry as a pastor to help launch and oversee a new family business. Maybe a year or two into this new venture, I realized I was having the same conversations I was having just months earlier at the church I worked at. The unique abilities God put into me didn’t end because I was outside of full-time ministry.
The call of God to be a pastor didn’t end because I wasn’t working at a church. My call continued to bleed through even as I was in the world. However, I had to choose whether to pursue my call in this new setting. In these moments, I most honored God and gave him glory.
But so did other parts of my job. Making money gave glory to God. Living generously with this money gave glory to God. Helping people succeed in their businesses gave glory to God. Helping photographers make young men and women look and feel attractive gave glory to God.
I simply had to make this my mission.
Take Your Next Step
Let’s go back to the beginning. First, your purpose is to follow Jesus and give glory to God. Second, you are called to use the unique gifts God’s given to you to bring him honor and glory.
Many of you know exactly what you are to do. You see God's call on your life based on your unique gifts.
That is your purpose. Either continue walking in this path or take a step in this direction.
Others may still feel lost. You understand your ultimate purpose to bring honor and glory to God, but your call or purpose still seems fuzzy. Here are a few suggestions for you:
Think about the things you have been successful at in your life. What skills and abilities helped you find success?
Consider what you really enjoy doing as a job or hobby. What would you do even if you weren’t being paid?
Ask several people you trust: What am I talented and gifted at? What are some common denominators in their answers?
Combine all these and consider what lies behind these abilities and attributes, which may lead to a purpose or calling.
For instance, when I worked in the family business, people would call for a business purpose, but the conversation would naturally turn to a spiritual or personal issue. I have the gift of creating an atmosphere where people can share things deep within them. This showed me that there was a pastoral gift within me.
Finally, here are some resources to dig deeper into knowing your purpose and call:
The Purpose Driven Life - This is a now classic book by Rick Warren about discovering your unique life purpose.
Storyline: Finding Your Subplot in God’s Story - This book was seminal in my return to full-time ministry. It will help you find your place in God’s story by helping you identify what you care about most deeply.
Strength Finders 2.0 - While most of us attempt to improve our weaknesses, we are best served by improving our strengths. This will help you find what lies behind your successes.
Spiritual Gifts Test - This free online test helps you identify the gifts God has given to you. These gifts can be used inside and outside the church.
No matter where you are in this process, I challenge you to take a step. Either act on your purpose and call or seek to determine your unique calling on life.
Finally, I want to thank you for your subscription and welcome Forest and Emeran as new subscribers. I am amazed you appreciate my writing enough to make space in your inbox. All the posts from this newsletter will always remain free, but you can show your support through a paid subscription here:
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To be clear, knowing God is not easy, but it isn’t complicated either.
Genesis 1:26-27
Psalm 100:2-3
John 17:4
Genesis 1:28-29
Psalm 139:13-16
Paul painted a picture of the results of the fall of man in Romans 1:18-32
The tax collector was also known as a publican in some versions of Scripture.
Marlena -- you're welcome, so glad it was helpful!
This is soo good! Thank you for this!