What’s your purpose in life? Why are you specifically here on this earth?
With Jesus, the Bible gives us the advantage of seeing the story of his life from beginning to end. We also get to see his life purpose unfold starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation.
In our case, most of us search for meaning and purpose in life. When we latch on to what seems to be our unique contribution to mankind, we then restlessly pursue options for the best fit. I’ve always admired others who have a “life verse” or a “life statement.” How on earth do we boil life into one statement? Personally, I wasn’t able to begin to do this until I’d lived enough life to see how God uses my gifts, strengths and weaknesses.
What gets you up in the morning (besides the aroma of coffee wafting through the house? #addiction!)? Part of living a life full of blessing and fulfillment is finding your niche. I’ve learned over the years that if I’m not a part of helping others develop as people and as followers of Christ, I’m not living out who God made me to be. This is the statement I want to be true of me until the moment I see Jesus: Helping others understand God's grace and enjoy their freedom in Christ.
From the get go, Jesus came to this earth fully knowing his life purpose: to be THE sacrificial lamb for all mankind—forever.
We read in John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Context is crucial here! This meant everything to the people who heard John proclaim it. Sheep were highly valuable possessions. Each Jewish family had to select a perfect lamb, which would live among them like a pet until it was slaughtered. That was so the people might more fully understand the price of sin. It’s not like they just went out to the field and picked a lamb. This one meant something to them.
I long for others to understand God’s grace and how that leads to their freedom in Christ. God’s grace gave us the gift of His Son’s sacrifice on the cross, providing for us eternal freedom from the penalty of sin we deserved to pay. Look how the following scriptures reiterate why Jesus was the perfect sacrificial lamb for us:
Search for Significance by Robert McGee is one of my all-time favorite books. I love it because it provides such a solid foundation for believers. Consider what he had to say about Jesus’ sacrifice:
“This is all about what Christ did for us—dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins against God. That means when we trust in Christ’s sacrifice, when we put our faith in Him rather than our own abilities to succeed and perform, we are completely forgiven. All of our failures (PAST / PRESENT / FUTURE) are dealt with by Christ’s forgiveness and love. We no longer have to fear failure...In the same way that God took our imperfection and poured it on the Christ on the cross, He then took the resurrected Christ’s perfection and poured it on believers!”
Y’all – it’s almost too much for our human minds to comprehend. Please get this truth into your heart and mind. As my friend, Blake says, it’s a game-changer!
When God looks at you, he sees the righteousness of Christ and He smiles with approval. You don’t have to perform for His approval or acceptance.
The key to freedom is that Jesus Christ took care of your performance issues by HIS performance on the cross.
It’s not about what we did or do; it’s about what God did for us through his perfect Lamb, Jesus. Period.
Questions to Ponder:
1. Read the following verses (Colossians 1:22, Jude 24:24, Romans 5:1-2) and pick out the encouraging truths about your position before God.
2. Spend some time praying with thanksgiving for Jesus living out his purpose as the perfect lamb.
“Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” Colossians 1:22
“Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.” Jude 24:24
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place ofundeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” Romans 5:1-2
