What is Your Life's Purpose?

What is your life’s purpose?

A friend recently asked me if I could answer that question. I said “yes”.  Since this blog is where I proudly display my volubly garrulous ramblings, I promised to answer in detail, on a blog in the near future.  I regret to inform you, dear reader, that the near future has arrived.  So, like it or not, this is my answer.  Be forewarned that you’re about to be exposed to a greater degree of openness and vulnerability than I have previously demonstrated on my blog.  Your “purpose” (whatever that may be) will likely differ from mine, but I hope you’ll read something herein that you respect.  I’d also like to add that I am trying daily to live up to this characterization of my life’s purpose.  This is what I aspire to, not what I’ve attained.   So, having read this, you’ll know more about what makes me tick.  Heck, writing it has helped me to recognize and appreciate what makes me tick!  I don’t presume that you care, but it’s here for you to read if you should wish to do so.

My life’s purpose is comprised of 3 categories: Lover, Priest, Teacher

Lover – My primary purpose in life is to love my family.  I believe that society is built on strong families.  Families are built upon strong marriages (between 1 human adult man and 1 human adult woman).  As the family goes, so goes the society.  Therefore, the most significant work I’ll ever do is within the walls of my own home.  Left to my own devices (read: vices), I can be ferociously selfish.  Since this is counterproductive to love, I have had to find external examples of loving fathers that I can model.  For me the best example of a loving father is God.  His love is selfless, boundless, enduring and unconditional.  It’s impossible for me to love like He does, but he’s my ultimate role model.  So, I love my family by serving them, intentionally pursuing relationships with each of them individually, providing for them, listening and responding to them, and protecting them – even to the point of giving up my own life, if necessary.   I take responsibility for (and consider myself ultimately accountable for) the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical well-being of my wife and each of our children.  So, I endeavor to love them by serving them in a way that addresses those needs in a balanced way. 

Minister – This one may seem peculiar to some.  What comes to mind when you consider a minister?  For me, I think of someone who teaches and serves people on behalf of God, and someone who seeks God on behalf of people.  So, my purpose in my home is to represent my family before God in prayer.  I do this by praying for their safety, their growth, their everyday needs, their yet-unknown future needs, health, happiness, joy etc.  I also represent God in their lives.  I can accomplish this in many ways, such as speaking wisdom into their lives, setting the spiritual and emotional tone for our household, providing a framework of morals, boundaries and discipline, providing for their physical needs and (most importantly) demonstrating healthy behavior and habits for them to model.  It’s also imperative that I live out my relationship with God in front of them so that they can see that he’s real and that he is involved in the daily life of our family.

Teacher – I am responsible to make sure that my children are trained and equipped to live a healthy, responsible adult life.  I believe that they will learn more from how I live than they will from what I say.  So my purpose is to teach them by authentically, transparently living, working, succeeding and failing on display.  I will teach them about marriage by loving their mother and jealously guarding my time with her.  I will teach them about stewardship by paying my bills and maintaining my car.  I will teach them about humility by failing, admitting it and trying again.  They will learn about faith and who God is by watching me as I learn the very same thing.  I will also teach them a host of other lessons by doing the things I don’t even know I’m doing.  Chilling thought!  

So, my purpose isn’t anything profound or lofty.  It’s quite simple.  I strive to live a life that will be worthy of eulogizing when my children bury me (God willing).  Regardless of how much money I make or how many earthly treasures I gather along the way, in the end I want my family to know that they were the apple of my eye.  I want them to know that nothing mattered more to me than them.  I want them to remember me as one who was rigorously honest, passionately present, and unwaveringly committed to them.  If I fail at that, no other success will have tipped the scales of significance in my favor.  I will have failed to fulfill my purpose.