BIG FIVE #2: What am I?

Got Purpose?—What Am I?

As we attempt to discover our purpose, we also need to know what we are. Knowing how we are designed will lead us to our purpose. As the design of a plane tells us that it is used for flying in the sky and the design of a car tells us it is used for driving on the ground, our design will tell us what we were made for.

God tells us what we are in the Bible, His message to humankind. If you don’t believe the Bible is God’s Word, consider these thoughts:

· Influence: The Bible has had an overwhelming influence on the world and continues to influence the world today. Millions of Bibles or Bible portions are produced every year.

· History/Science: It is not a science or history book, but when it speaks to those subjects, it is accurate.

· Archaeology: Archaeology has confirmed the Bible’s historical accuracy repeatedly.

· Manuscript evidence: There are thousands of Biblical manuscripts in existence to verify the accuracy of today’s Bible.

· Changed lives: The Bible has changed millions of lives verified by countless testimonies of transformed individuals.

· Answers: The Bible provides us with a complete explanation for the origin and the meaning of life.

The Bible reveals what we as humans are in its first book, Genesis. In Genesis 1:26, the Bible says that God created human beings “in His image,” or in other words, with characteristics similar to Himself. One of those characteristics is personhood.

Genesis 2:7 says that God created people as living souls. We are more than physical bodies. We are more than animals. We have souls. Our soul makes us a person. Our soul gives us personality and animation: intellect, emotion, and free will. It gives us the ability to form relationships, even with God Himself.

When we consider the question, “What am I?” and think about how we were designed as persons, we see that personal relationships are interwoven into our purpose. Humans were not designed to live alone but in community, and we know that having good, wholesome relationships is very rewarding. We understand the meaning that relationships bring to life. The deepest, most meaningful relationship that we can have is a relationship with God. The Bible tells us that true life is found in knowing God (John 17:3).

Again, as Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.” Could it be that our restless search for meaning is designed to lead us to God?

Stop and Think: The second step to finding your purpose is to find lasting and fulfilling relationships, and mostly in a relationship with God. What do you think?