“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
(Ephesians 2:10)
When I was younger, I used to walk aimlessly, having no direction in life. Because I was a wounded child, I felt life had no meaning.
But I was always curious with how things came to be. Books that taught me how things worked or how they were created would captivate me.
Inventions fascinated me. I admired the works of engineers who created objects and products that make the world a better place.
I discovered that engineers get to work by first designing the idea on a drawing board. What is interesting is that in designing, they already determine the function of each part of their prototype. There is not only art but science involved.
God Is an Engineer
When engineers create new things, they study how nature works. Inspired by nature, they remind us that God is the greatest engineer of all. Consider how amazingly He has engineered every part of our bodies. Every organ serves a life-giving function. The same goes with the world. Every created thing in the universe has a reason for existing.
When God designed the stars, He already had its purpose in mind.
“He placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:17-18).
Like the stars, God had already determined the role we are to play. He designed us with a purpose. If we are true to our design, we will discover our mission. Just like the inventor who designed the oven. When he determined that “this machine will make bread,” he had also envisioned the people it will feed.
God Created Us for a Purpose
When I was writing my novella, Harvest Moon,* I had to make profiles for the main characters in the story, to the extent of drawing up a family tree for each of them. I had to determine their unique characteristics, personalities, talents and gifts. I created each of them with a purpose in mind. I felt close to God while creating these imagined characters, realizing that I may have also been created this way.
Even before I was born, He designed me with a purpose. Every person has a purpose in life. I think about the prophet Jeremiah and how God entrusts us with our individual missions in life.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Jesus Himself came to fulfill the purpose for which God sent Him — a mission determined for Him and prophesied ages before He was born on earth.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18).
I believe the Lord has also prophesied our purpose in life when He created us.
God’s Design Reveals Our Purpose
When I take time to discover His design — my unique personality, characteristics and gifts, I will discover what He wants me to do, my purpose in life. To love myself is to be true to God’s design of me. In being truly ourselves, we discover our purpose, the meaning of our lives. It helps us answer another very important question in life, “Why am I here?”
I define “mission in life” as the good works God has prepared for us in advance to do. In advance, because it has been determined for us before we were created. It’s a role we must fulfill, a purpose we need to accomplish.
These good works are aligned with our deepest dreams. He has already equipped and anointed us to fulfill these dreams beforehand. How? By giving us our talents and gifts.
These questions can help us discover what we were made to do:
* What are the things am I passionate about?
* What are the things that I love doing?
* What do I do best?
* What is the one thing that I do that when I do it, it blesses others?
* What gives me joy?
Be True to His Design
I discovered my mission by taking time to reflect on how I was designed.
I have big eyes. I used to be conscious about them. But now I see how beautiful they are for they allow me to see things in a more vivid way, giving me a sense of wonder about the world and curiosity over things. The simple design of my eyes equips me to see things from a larger perspective. Because the good Lord has equipped me with a facility for words, I am able to describe, explain and share delightful discoveries with you. With the sensitivity and heightened sense of awareness, He has equipped me to be a writer and anointed me with His insights and creativity. He has enabled me to do good works in advance, like writing this book.
By being true to myself, I learned to love myself. I realized that I have a purpose in life and that my life has meaning.
In being true to God’s design of us and in fulfilling our mission, we find our deepest fulfillment. We are at our happiest when we are truly being ourselves, the way God made us. There is no room for insecurity because every child of God is special and uniquely engineered. If every person were true to his or her purpose, we would be blessed by the gifts that the Lord had given each of us.
If we are true to ourselves, we will find true happiness that comes from within.
Let us walk the path that our awesome Creator has prepared for us. Here we will find joy in being all that we were created to be.
*This excerpt was taken from LOVE YOURSELF AS GOD LOVES YOU by Marjorie Duterte, available in paperback and e-book copy at http://www.feastbooks.ph!
