Our Purpose

Our purpose in life--regardless of our calling--is quite simple. By His grace we have become His children, and we have been indwelt by Him in the person of the Holy Spirit. "He that has this hope in him purifies himself even as He is pure." Our purpose is to become more and more like Him on a daily basis--to "practice" righteousness, to submit to the life of the True Vine and thus, to daily produce more and more of the Spirit's fruit--love, joy, peace, gentleness, faithfulness . . . in our walk. These are the evidence, the outward manifestations of an intimate, abiding relationship with my Savior. His expectation is that we are being transformed into His likeness.
And that requires some taking away; there must be less of me evident to others if more of Him is going to be evident to others. That's why trials are so essential in my walk with Him. In my pride I am too often not willing to readily give up the "things" I like about me nor the attitudes and viewpoints that I cherish as essential to having the acceptance and approval of others. Thankfully, He is not in the least bit "squeamish" about removing those things from my life that are detrimental to my usefulness in His kingdom. After all, I do not "manufacture" Christ-likeness in my life. It only comes about by His Spirit's "cleaning" out of my life those negative traits and ideas that are designed for me to gain man's approval, including, if not especially, my own. As that cleaning out process matures me--as I allow the Spirit to let the new creation--the new life that's in me--resonate through me, Christ's presence in the world--His glory--amazingly and incomprehensibly becomes evident in my life. In my life! His glory! Astounding grace!
And He will never in this life divert His energies--His power--from effecting such transformation in my life--on a daily basis. The carrying of my cross is not a haphazard, when I feel like it, activity. It is a daily requirement for discipleship, for glorifying Him. Less of me. More of Him. That is His purpose for my life. Today! And it begins with a taking away--a cleansing accomplished through His Word actively exposing those things in my life that need rooting out no matter how much I cherish them. The Spirit takes the trials of my life, immerses them in the teaching of the Word, and daily strives to transform me. His message to my heart--to my loves and my will--is: "This is who you are; this is what I want and need you to be. You do not need the approval of men. If that's what you want, they are your masters and you are their slave. For a life that makes an eternal difference, you need My approval. You need to love Me by being obedient to the changes I desire for you to humbly embrace. Yes, as the infinite, wise, loving God, I know the transformation, the taking away, that is necessary. I know what needs to be put to death in your life today."

May the song of our heart be, "O to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; stamp Thine own image deep in my heart."

"Come in Thy sweetness."