How to find your purpose & influence

Introduction

What is my purpose in life? Is that not the question we are all constantly asking ourselves? Why else do we fret over picking the perfect major or finding the perfect job? Why else do we spend hours upon hours searching anxiously for “the will of God” in our lives? We’re all desperate for some purpose.

The good news is - there is purpose to our lives. There is the purpose of all humanity, and there are the individual influences where you (and I) uniquely live out our human purpose. The exciting (and relieving) news is that our human purpose isn’t hard to find, and, if we pay attention, neither are our influences. You don’t have to go on a wild goose chase for purpose. You don’t constantly have to question what God has created you to do. Purpose isn’t stressful, it’s beautiful. That’s exactly what we’re going to explore in this blog post. 

What is our purpose as humans?

To discover our purpose as humans, we must go back to the very beginning. Before all of this existed, before time itself existed, there was God. And God, in perfect relationship within the Trinity, needed nothing. Yet, God created. He created the universe. He created the earth. He created the sun, the moon, and the stars. He created plants and animals. And, of course, He created us. He didn’t have to, but he did.

Like any artist, God created with a purpose. It was a purpose of love and not necessity, which, I think, makes it all the more wonderful. God says that He made us in His image. There are many implications to that, one being that we too are mini-creators. We are also namers. Just as God named Adam, Adam named the animals. We see from the very beginning that the purpose of man was – has always been – to co-rule with God. We were always meant to be stewards – humbly ruling over an Earth we do not own.

Co-ruling, stewarding, then, is the fundamental purpose of every person and of humanity as a whole. Did the fall corrupt us? Yes. But we see that on the New Earth we will perfectly rule with God again. This human purpose is an eternal thing. It is what we were created to do.

But what does it mean to co-rule? There are a number of approaches to answering this question. One relatively simple answer is “creating order out of chaos.” Just as God does that, so too are we invited into the process. The way we each uniquely live this out is through our influence.

What is our influence?

Our influence is the unique way that we live out our greater human purpose. Our influence includes our talents, position, and network. We all share a single human purpose, but none of us have exactly the same influence. That brings individuality into the way that we live out our purpose. It’s also often what we confuse with purpose.

But what do each of these three aspects look like? We’ve all been given individual talents and abilities. For some, that may be playing an instrument, and for others, it may be leading groups of people. We all have been given talents to help us accomplish the human purpose of stewardship. Remember that. We have all been given talents for a purpose. You have talents. You have skills. You have abilities. You just have to discover them. Maybe they aren’t even what you think of as a talent. Maybe they aren’t the sort of talents that will make you a neurosurgeon. But they’re there. And they’re good. Why? Because God gave them to you. And his work is good. These talents are more than just talents. They’re gifts. That means they’re not yours. You don’t own them. There is no place to brag about gifts. Not only are they not yours, but they’ve been given to you for a purpose. They don’t exist so you can fulfill every selfish desire. They exist for you to steward the earth. That’s pretty awesome. 

We also each have a unique position based on a number of factors including our age and location. We may live in Georgia, while you may live in Texas. We may be college students, while you may be moms or dads. These positions add to our influence and the way that we specifically live out our purpose. Of course, these positions change throughout our lives. So too does our influence. Our purpose remains the same, but we can live it out differently at different times. If you think your purpose is to be a doctor, then when you are old and frail and can no longer do the work of a doctor, your life will lose purpose. Being a doctor is an important part of your influence, but it isn’t your underlying purpose.

Finally, your network is a crucial part of your influence. The people you know will be affected by you and vice versa. Are you creating order from chaos in the way that you interact with people around you? And are you surrounding yourself with the sort of people who do the same? 

We all have influence. We have talents, positions, and networks. The question is: are we using them to live out our human purpose? Are we using our abilities to create beautiful and good things? Are we using our position as students to form our minds? Are we using our networks to love people well...to teach them...to encourage them...to point them to the King? 

Conclusion

You have a purpose. Steward the earth. It’s a big task, and it includes everything. Gardening is living out your purpose. Taking care of your dog is living out your purpose. Studying is living out your purpose. 

Purpose was never meant to be a wild goose chase. It’s right there. All you have to do is recognize your influence - the way that you live out that purpose. Your influence will shift throughout your life, but that’s okay. What you must do is recognize your influence at each stage and use it well to live out your purpose.

Also, if you want more really cool resources for understanding your purpose as a human and how to live out of it, we recommend Garden City by John Mark Comer and Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller.

by the Small Group Interns