Purpose

" GOAL DIRECTED BEHAVIOUR IS OBSERVED IN ALL BODIES OBEYING NATURAL LAWS, EVEN WHEN THEY LACK AWARENESS.
BUT NOTHING LACKING AWARENESS CAN TEND TO A GOAL EXCEPT IT BE DIRECTED BY SOMEONE WITH AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING; THE ARROW, FOR EXAMPLE, REQUIRES AN ARCHER.
EVERYTHING IN NATURE, THEREFORE, IS DIRECTED TO ITS GOAL BY SOMEONE WITH UNDERSTANDING, AND THIS WE CALL GOD" - AQUINAS

PURPOSE.

For a lot of people, purpose is, back of the mind, too scary to think about, living for the now, kind of a thought.
Trying to find our purpose on earth seems, for some, unachievable and unattainable.

When I was younger, I questioned what life was about. I looked at the world in an abstract way, questioning the societal norms that people live in day by day until the end of our lives.
As I looked at the world, I saw the schedule, and the plan....
School, uni, job, marriage, kids, retirement, grandkids.

Is that life? Is that satisfying for a life of 80 years or so?
Why, if every animal, every tree and everything else within the world has a greater purpose, would we not?

At 14, the future terrified me. I saw no way out of the socially inflicted life that seemed to be laid out and planned before me.
I felt like I had no substantial purpose.
In reality, I discovered the purpose of my life, not long after I had questioned it.

Picture this:
Some may say our purpose is to achieve happiness...
BUT what about those who are depressed, or those who don't feel happy?
Do they not have a purpose?

Some may also say that our purpose is to have a family...
BUT what about those who never marry or never have kids?
Do they not have a purpose?

PURPOSE is something we can all have.
Jesus' love and grace is something that we can all have, whether we are poor or rich, happy or sad, married or single.
So what does God say our purpose is?
To share the gospel and make disciples. (Exodus 9:16, Matthew 28:19)

In 2012, when I started following Jesus, the fear that had gripped me, left. The feeling of being lost left me as I was found (Luke 15:1-7), because I was made to feel loved, worthy and needed.
A love so contagious filled me that I couldn't keep it in, a love that excited me so much that I knew my life can be used as a way to declare it, I can be a vessel for his love, I can show others his freedom and I can reach out and have impact on people's lives.

A freedom where my purpose is at the front of my mind, not the back. Where you can feel full in your heart without necessarily being happy, because emotions are fleeting, but God is not. Where you can feel direction without doing the things planned for you by the world.

The purpose God can give is one where even when things are falling apart, your eyes remain fixed on your goal...passion, fire and enthusiasm still floods your soul as you glimpse at the lost world that continually moves around you.

The future has no restrictions, life is not a schedule.
God is not confined to... School, uni, job, marriage, kids, retirement and grandkids.
Our purpose may be one thing, but that thing is not dull, it's not restrictive.... It's exciting and forever moving forward.

It gives you meaning and it gives you life. 

Because even though it's one thing, it is given to us by the creator of all things, the one that gave the bees and the trees purpose, the one who has promised to help us in fulfilling his promise and plans for our lives.

As Aquinas said, God is the archer, he gives us the direction, his aim is perfect and it's always for a reason.