This Is Your Life

Today in church we were learning about Paul and his life changing experience on the road to Damascus. The pastor mentioned how many people don't experience such a life altering event like Paul did, completely and instantly changing the direction of one's life...some would say "doing a 180."  You see, Paul was a persecutor of Christians, he supported the killing of Jesus' followers!  And after this "Damascus Road" experience he instantly became a Christian Leader, a disciple of Jesus, and his subsequent missions led to the widespread communication of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We are not all called to be world traveling missionaries for God, but we all do have a purpose in God's Kingdom.  Over time there are moments in our lives that we may choose to evaluate whether we are serving that purpose. Sometimes it's so hard to know what our purpose is!  I believe that our purpose in God's Kingdom can change over time as we go through different phases of our lives.

So this week's song is an oldie from 2004..."This Is Your Life," by Switchfoot.  This song always is a reminder to me to make sure that I am going in the right direction, and a call to action to adjust my path if I'm not.

One of the phrases I like the most in this song is "yesterday is dead and over."  Like Paul, it is possible to totally abandon our past sins, our mistakes and move forward in a new direction.

As I listen to this song, I would add one thing...not only "are you who you want to be?" but also, "are you who God wants you to be?"  To know that, we really do need to do some listening to understand what our path should be.  This is something that I really struggle with.  Sometimes I wish God would just talk to me in a loud clear voice like He did with Paul, come to me in a dream or something, give me a clear sign.  I can only conclude that the journey of discovering our purpose though our own trials and the subtle nudges of our Heavenly Father may prove to be more meaningful and rewarding than if we were just handed the answers on a silver platter.

I pray that you will come to know your purpose, if you don't already, and that you will stay on the right path, making corrections along the way.  I hope that you are working towards being the person that you want to be and that God wants you to be.   I know many of you are on this road, this journey of faith with me, not having all the answers...it feels great to have travel buddies.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Phillipians 2:13