Blog

by Nathan Buck

“He has told you, human/mortal, what is good. What does the Lord require of you? To live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”
- Micah 6:8

As our world becomes more cluttered and crowded with information, opportunity, and distraction, our sense of identity can become more chameleon-like. Instead of a consistent sense of who we are, why we are here, and who we represent – we can become more identified with other personalities and situations. A fragmented and distracted mind leads to a fragmented and distracted person. A lack of solitude, pause, and reflection leads to short-sighted, reactive, and stressful decision making. It’s easy in our world to ask the question, “Why am I here?” Many are plagued by thoughts of what they really are accomplishing, or if they will make a difference, or be remembered. Others may be more cynical and hedonistic and just live for the moment – any pleasure they can find. And others may desperately chase opportunity after opportunity to get known or leave their mark on the world.

What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose in life? It’s a great question for philosophers and daydreamers to tumble around and try to find something that sticks or inspires. But is it really that complicated?

If you ask someone from a more “eastern” culture, whose worldview is more concrete and less abstract, they may answer, “Who cares?” After all, why waste time trying to answer an impossible question, when you have evidence of what you can do, and where you can do it, hardwired into your personality - body and soul? They may even ask you this question in response, “What are you DOING with the life you HAVE?”

In the Bible passage I shared above, you get a sense that God has a similar perspective. He is not wondering what your purpose is. He made you. He designed your wiring. He gave you talents and gifts. He placed you in a culture with a family that would shape you, and left all kinds of clues for you to find about His existence and how to connect with Him to live out your design to the fullest.

What if our purpose in life begins with those simple principles God expects of us?
- Live justly – making sure our life and our actions are good and trustworthy, and establish justice and integrity with and for others.
- Love mercy – seeking every opportunity to bring about the best in someone or some situation, regardless of their failings.
- Walk humbly with God – being available and putting our minds/hands/resources to the things God values and has planned.

It seems to me, if I reflect on what it would take to do any one of these every day of my life, I would experience quite an adventure. To try and live out all three certainly would fill a lifetime with experiences, accomplishments, and opportunities. So is it that simple?

Take some time to reflect on what your life would look like if you tried to live these out right where God has planted you, and with the opportunities God has placed in front of you. And check out the other blogs on the Worldview Warriors website this week, as we explore the purpose of life.