Want to hear a secret? If I tell you this secret you have to swear to tell everybody you know about it. You can't just keep it for yourself. If I share this secret with you, it has to go beyond this blog or there will be Hell to pay.
Okay, you may want to get some paper and a pen so you can write this down. I mean, this secret is pretty big and I don't want you to miss any of it. Actually, you know what, I'm writing this for you so you can skip the pen and paper route.
Ok, ok....I'll tell you what it is. Are you ready? Ok, here it comes:
God has given you a gift that, if used properly, is guaranteed to radically and permanently transform your life for the better.
Yeah, I know. You need more explanation. Don't feel bad, so did I the first time I heard this. Tell you what. You stay with me for a little longer and I'll do more than just explain this gift to you, I'll show you how God wants us to use this gift to discover something that every single one of us desperately needs from Him.
But first, let me set the stage...
I think I can be safe in saying there isn't a man, woman, or child on this planet that hasn't wondered "why am I here" at some point in their lives. I know I've pondered this question many times for many years. You might say I've become a sort of expert in asking, seeking, and knocking.....especially the asking part.
I imagine if God were capable of reaching eye-rolling levels of frustration with his children, I'd be among the top ten on that list. Ah, who am I kidding...I'm easily in the top three on God's "Oh, great it's HIM again" list, if such a list existed. I have bombarded the throne room of God with so many "why" questions that my nickname in heaven has to be "The Whys Guy".
I don't want to leave the impression that I'm challenging God in an act of faithlessness when I've asked these "why" questions. Ok, so maybe SOME of them have come from a less than faith-filled place, but overall my search has had a deeper goal in mind than simply finding solutions to undesirable situations.
The deeper reason behind my questions is ultimately to discover my purpose for being here. I have an inkling of an idea that every thing that has happened in my life has been divinely guided (if not directly appointed) for much larger reasons than to simply test my faith or teach me a life lesson. You might say I am driven with a very deep hunger to not only discover my personal purpose but to help anyone God puts in my path to find theirs.
Understand, I'm not talking about God's surface-level purpose for our lives. I mean, I'm not talking about going to church, praying prayers, or some kind of duty-bound level of "service". Truth be told, I've tried doing all of that for years and the results of living that kind of existence is, frankly, dry, boring, and powerless; especially in the face of unwanted trials.
Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing inherently wrong with doing any of those things. Going to church is usually a lot better than going to a lot of other places (like a bar, or the hospital, or prison). You certainly can't go wrong with praying and volunteering for church service is hardly a waste of your time.
But I'm not talking about any of that stuff. I'm talking about knowing in your core why God put YOU on this Earth and learning how to consistently, habitually, and permanently walk in that purpose.
Thing is, discovering God's purpose requires us to ask a lot of questions...even the forbidden "why" question. I've asked God "why" since I was a newborn-again Christian. My analytical mind has always had trouble just accepting things as they are; especially in the face of faith-challenging tribulations. I don't like cliches. I hate spiritually-sounding phrases that have no power behind them. I despise being told "well, there's a reason for everything" without immediately following that statement up with the reason. In fact, I've probably upset more than a few of God's well-intentioned people who shared that particular nugget of impotent 'truth' when I was going through a difficult season of life.
At the risk of sounding proud and arrogant, I don't want empty platitudes and memory verses. I want to see my Rock, my Shield, my Mighty Fortress, and my Strong Tower at work in real time. I want to see my Great Shepherd lead me through the valley of death. I want to experience my Redeemer's redeeming power in the here and now, not just in the sweet by and by. I want to walk with the I AM of scripture, not just hear about the I WAS of antiquity.
In other words, I want God to be real or I want no part of this journey.
Let's face it. Being a Christian is hard. Don't believe me? Read the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) and just try to live by the instructions found in those chapters for a day. Try it for a few hours. Try it the next time someone spitefully uses you. Try loving your enemies. Try not looking lustfully at an attractive member of the opposite sex. Try not worrying when things are going bad. Try doing ANY of the things Christ insisted was necessary to live as a follower of His with any consistency.
I'll repeat. Being a Christian is HARD. It's unnatural. We get hurt, it is in our nature to hurt back, not "turn the other cheek". When we experience hardships, we want to fix the situation immediately not wait patiently for a mostly silent deity to get around to helping us in our time of trouble. If we're heartbroken, we don't want to be comforted, we want solutions that will end the heartbreak; especially in the face of life-altering tragedies.
Yeah, living the Christian life is very difficult...especially when we are the ones trying to live the Christian life.
Actually, now that I think about it, living as a devoted, committed follower of Christ isn't just difficult...it is impossible without a full understanding of this single God-given gift that every single one of us has.
So, what's the secret to this gift? I'm glad you asked and I promise I am going to tell you everything He has taught me and is still teaching me about it. But first, I need you to read something from the scriptures. It's kind of a starting point for the journey we're about to start together. Here, let me drop it right here for you to read:
Joshua 24:15
This is the starting point for learning the secret to God's gift and His purpose for you. As with all things in life, our journey with God, especially just how far we're going to go with God, begins and ends with our choices.
So, I'm going to leave this thought with you and pick it up in more detail in the next blog.
Do you realize just how powerful our ability to choose really is?
....stay tuned...we're just getting started.
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