A Purpose For Every Life

“And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
But he passing through the midst of them went his way.” Luke 4:28-30

From the moment Jesus was born, Satan used Herod and countless others to try to destroy Him and to prevent Him from accomplishing His purpose in this world.

We can be sure too, that Satan is also trying to destroy our lives before we accomplish God’s purpose for our life. However, like Jesus, we can be sure that if we belong to God that He will preserve our lives until we have accomplished His purpose for us. Below is a remarkable account of Ellen Harmon, a young girl, no more than eighteen years old. She is on a steamboat leaving Portland Maine that has just run into a very dangerous storm. While many were fearful for their lives, this young girl, when asked by an older woman why she was not afraid like everyone else, could answer with assurance.

“I told her I had made Christ my refuge, and if my work was done, I might as well lie in the bottom of the ocean as in any other place; but if my work was not done, all the waters of the ocean could not drown me. My trust was in God, that he would bring us safe to land if it was for his glory.” Ellen White, Life Sketches, p. 241

God did indeed have a work for Ellen to do. Ellen later married James White, an Adventist pioneer, and the rest is history.

God also has a purpose for each of us. Our goal in this world should not necessarily be to live a long life, but to live a faithful life. As long as we have the assurance young Ellen Harmon had, that we are in God’s care and doing God’s work, the longevity of our life is not consequential, and we shall be prepared to walk away from this world either by death or the Second Coming at any time.

Each has his own experience, peculiar in its character and circumstances, to accomplish a certain work. God has a work, a purpose, in the life of each of us. Every act, however small, has its place in our life experience. – Ellen White, Testimonies Volume 3 Page 541

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Church is not like an All-Star NBA basketball game where only the best and the brightest sports stars are allowed to join in and show off their skills. Each person in church has a unique role that only they and no one else can accomplish. For each person in church, there is someone in the world that only they can reach and bring to Christ. Partial church participation will only serve to continue partial fulfillment of God’s work.

"Those who have the spiritual oversight of the church should devise ways and means by which an opportunity may be given to every member of the church to act some part in God’s work. Too often in the past this has not been done. Plans have not been clearly laid and fully carried out whereby the talents of all might be employed in active service. There are but few who realize how much has been lost because of this.
The leaders in God’s cause, as wise generals, are to lay plans for advance moves all along the line. In their planning they are to give special study to the work that can be done by the laity for their friends and neighbors. The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers." {Testimonies for the Church 9:116, 117}.

Without regular use, muscles quickly atrophy and weaken. By witnessing to others and serving in the church the entire congregation can exercise its spiritual muscles on a regular basis. With the increasing use of faith through the works born of true revival and reformation, spiritual strength in God grows ever more abundant. In opting out of participation in God’s work, people don’t realize that they are also opting out of the salvation of their own lives.

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A Purpose For Every Life — 8 Comments

Siddell James Tobias Bloodsaw on June 25, 2012 at 12:47 am said:

This was simply amazing.. can't even find words to describe this! 🙂

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Joan Davis on June 25, 2012 at 3:46 am said:

We need to remember daily that God has a reason for our existence. With the magnitude of negative events in this world, especially those affecting our church family, we would want to give up on witnessing but God has a place for each of us and we, more than before, need to be diligent in spreading the message of HOPE.

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Ken Mindoro on June 25, 2012 at 10:53 am said:

Church is not like an All-Star NBA basketball game where only the best and the brightest sports stars are allowed to join in and show off their skills. Each person in church has a unique role that only they and no one else can accomplish. For each person in church, there is someone in the world that only they can reach and bring to Christ. Partial church participation will only serve to continue partial fulfillment of God’s work.

"Those who have the spiritual oversight of the church should devise ways and means by which an opportunity may be given to every member of the church to act some part in God’s work. Too often in the past this has not been done. Plans have not been clearly laid and fully carried out whereby the talents of all might be employed in active service. There are but few who realize how much has been lost because of this.
The leaders in God’s cause, as wise generals, are to lay plans for advance moves all along the line. In their planning they are to give special study to the work that can be done by the laity for their friends and neighbors. The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers." {Testimonies for the Church 9:116, 117}.

Without regular use, muscles quickly atrophy and weaken. By witnessing to others and serving in the church the entire congregation can exercise its spiritual muscles on a regular basis. With the increasing use of faith through the works born of true revival and reformation, spiritual strength in God grows ever more abundant. In opting out of participation in God’s work, people don’t realize that they are also opting out of the salvation of their own lives.

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James Ratcliff on June 28, 2012 at 9:37 am said:

Yes Ken, the hammer hit the nail on what you are saying, I receintly found that Jesus had a three fold mission preaching, teaching, healing, more healing than teaching and more teaching than preaching. His outreach seems to have been always addressing their needs and when He met that need they were ready to listen, learn, and follow. And sister White wrote Christ method alone, must work.

Christ ministered to people's needs before inviting them to follow Him.--Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, "Follow Me."--MH 143. {PaM 117.1}

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Jeff on June 30, 2012 at 1:05 am said:

What do we say about Hebrews 6:4-6???

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- Jane Sirignano on June 30, 2012 at 5:20 am said:
  
  Heb. 6:4-6...It's about those who really turn their backs on God for good.
  
  Thanks William for this post. We don't all have the same abilities and yet each part we play in life does have value. Thanks for the great picture and affirming that God indeed loves us, so much, much more than the sparrow.
  
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- Tyler Cluthe on June 30, 2012 at 3:08 pm said:
  
  I agree with Jane. Most commentators and theologians consider the text as dealing with the unpardonable sin. That is a condition where a person has rejected the Holy Spirit so completely that he/she will never accept Christ under any circumstance.
  
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William Earnhardt on July 1, 2012 at 7:10 pm said:

Thank you everyone for your contributions to the discussions. Remember Hebrews is dealing with the sin of unbelief. The entire reason Paul wrote Hebrews was becuase the people were expecting Jesus to come back right away, and when He did not they started to doubt He was even the Messiah. So Paul wrote chapter 1 of Hebrews to confirm Jesus was God, and then chapter 2 to confirm Jesus was man, and then with chapter 3 goes into the priesthood of Jesus and what He is accomplishing in the sanctuary before He returns. This why the terms "Hold fast your profession" and "cast not away your confidence" are often used, referring to the professions and confidence that Jesus is our Savior. In Hebrews 10:26 Paul says if we sin willfully there is no more sacrifice for sin. Many take that to mean if you sin willfully as in make a mistake you can't be forgiven. But Paul is not reffering to the sin defined in 1 John 3:4, but rather the sin defined in John 16:9, the sin of unbelief, that if we do not believe Jesus was the Sacrifice, there is no other sacrifice. So like Jane and Peter say, the sin of turning away from believing in the cross for good is the unpardonable sin. It is the sin of continual unbelief and rejection of salvation.

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