Measuring Purpose. A tree does not hear the sound of its own growth. That was a very clear message to me. I am analytical to a fault. Plan your work, work your plan, should be on my family crest. I think what I experience is something many people feel: a deep need to know if we are living our intended purpose.
Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
The deeper challenge for us may not be determining whether our lives have meaning. Rather, it may be coming to understand that we may need to accept that meaningful lives often feel unfinished, uncertain, and insufficient while they are lived. Most of what we do, including mentoring, teaching, evangelizing, helping the underserved, communicating, encouraging, and character development, is a slow-burning influence system. We are unlikely to see most of our impact directly.
Influence usually travels farther than emotion can track.
Dr. William Leslie
Dr. William Leslie was a medical missionary who went to the Congo in 1912. He served in a remote jungle region among the Yansi people for about 17 years. On the surface, the mission was deeply discouraging: little visible response, isolation, harsh conditions, and seemingly minimal lasting impact.
Eventually, discouraged and physically worn down, he returned to the United States, believing his efforts had largely failed. He died years later, unaware of whether his work had produced anything of substance.
But decades later — in 2010 — missionaries and researchers traveled to the same remote region expecting almost no Christian influence to remain. Instead, they found multiple thriving churches, a large network of believers, villages with established worship communities, and even a large stone church deep in the jungle.
The local communities still trace much of the original gospel influence to Leslie’s early work and to the seeds sown during those difficult years.
Living Our Purpose
Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
God does not waste effort. He does not leave obedience unrewarded. God lives outside of time. He knows the task He has set before you and the results that will come from that obedience. The results may lie over the horizon. We are time-constrained beings who measure change over time, but God does not. The ripple effect of a single conversation may take generations to bear meaningful fruit. Yet that conversation needs to happen today to bear fruit somewhere in the future.
“God never said the journey would be easy, but He did say the arrival would be worthwhile.” – Max Lucado.
Be Encouraged
Do not stop doing what God has put in your heart. God smiles at every effort, gesture, and meaningful moment. He alone knows why you are passionate. He created that passion in you. I have learned to judge my impact not by the number of saved souls or changed lives, but by the effort I put in. I must be comfortable doing what God wants of me, even when I do not always know why.
Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
So often, I want to stop because I can’t see the impact. I don’t see the reason to keep going. But I am always reminded that this isn’t my plan; it’s God’s. My job is simple: obedience. God rewards me with a kind word or an unexpected compliment, just enough to keep me going.
That simple gesture tells me I am His. That is enough.
Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
What does it mean to be alive? Is being alive the same as living? If you have breath in your lungs, why? God created you for greatness. Are you living up to God’s intent for you?
The good son—do you even know who I am talking about? Luke 15:11-32 is a parable Jesus taught about a lost, wayward son who finds redemption through a good father. The story is often taught in Sunday school and is the subject of many sermons and commentaries. The focus of most of these teachings is on how the prodigal son squandered his inheritance, was redeemed by a loving father, and was restored to his family. It exemplifies the act of Christ redeeming us back into His family after we have turned our backs on Him.
At some point, we all need a miracle. That isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s part of being human. Sometimes life pushes us so hard that we finally see what has always been true: we were never meant to carry everything alone.
In my three-quarters of a century, I have noticed that a life that ends well rarely happens by chance. It results from thousands of small decisions made over many years.
God does not waste pain, or why do good people suffer? This isn’t a question born out of curiosity. It’s asked from hospital rooms, gravesides, broken homes, and silent prayers that seem unanswered. It’s not philosophical; it’s personal.
Fear buries purpose not by force, but by permission. Giving in to the fear of failure hides your ability to reach your potential. Fear is the loud giant roaring in your mind, while faith is that whisper that pushes you forward. Too many times, we listen to the roaring giant because we can’t hear the whisper. We become less than God meant us to be, a shell of who we could have become.
And why is Christ Hard to Believe In?
Happy New Year from the God of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. As we step into the new year, we naturally reflect on the past and make plans for the future. Often, the past has too much influence on shaping what lies ahead. The closer we get to Christ, the more we see our future as being shaped by the sins of our past.