Somewhere in the deep parts of our souls we feel as though there must to be more to our lives than earning a paycheck for a few years, perhaps buying a home if we’re lucky, and being able to retire with dignity. Loving personal relationships add a lot of meaning to life. But isn’t there something more?
Do you ever feel as though God has something BIG He wants you to do, but you just can’t figure it out? Sometimes you may have a general idea, and you may have tried to take some steps toward what you see as God’s purpose for you, but nothing seems to happen. Even the things you try to accomplish just seem to fall flat when it comes to making any impact for God.
Peter writes that you have a pretty important role to play. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) That sounds as though you’re pretty important, doesn’t it?
But really now. Do you feel as though you are “declaring the praises of Him who called you?” Maybe it seems more like you’re “squeaking by hoping not to fall flat on your face spiritually.” Can you ever hope to get to the point where you “declare His praises?”
Fulfilling that calling has nothing to do with going as a missionary to Africa, teaching the 1st grade Sunday school class, or going to Bible school – that is, unless you know God wants you to do one of those things. All of those roles are just external positions in the institution of the church. There’s nothing wrong with being a missionary, teacher, or pastor, but that has nothing to do with what Peter is talking about, or with what God wants you to do.
The Kingdom of God is not an institution, a building, a program, or even the church. The Kingdom of God is His rule and reign in every part of this Earth. And God needs people to make that happen in every sphere of human endeavor.
There are several spheres that are badly in need of godly people to fully live out their Christianity right in the middle of that sphere. Some of these are:
- Government
- Science and medicine
- Education
- Arts and entertainment
- Media
- Athletics
- Business
- Finance
- Social and family
Sure, there are godly people in all of these fields. But for God’s Kingdom to be fully expressed, there needs to be much much more. God needs YOU to be in whatever field you get excited about. And it’s actually best if that field is not directly connected with “church stuff.” That means you have an even greater opportunity to extend God’s Kingdom into whatever field you’re in.
I’m not talking, for example, about a financier lending money to churches: I’m talking a financier working with the highest ethics possible when he could just as easily do the opposite. (Think George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life.) I’m not talking about a textbook writer necessarily trying to insert Bible stories in social studies books, but about seeing to it that values of honesty, courage, hard work, faithfulness, etc. are inserted in those books.
Who else will fight for laws that protect godly freedom?
Who else will raise the human spirit with breathtakingly beautiful art?
Who else will demonstrate that one can be a honest, brilliant scientist and also be a believer?
And who else will ……
What arena will YOU bring the Kingdom of God into?
Your Turn: What part of God’s purpose for your life DO you understand? What are you doing about it? Leave a comment below.
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