DR. NELLA GODFRYD

This is the fifth article in a 12 part series on How to Plan and Improve Your Life in which I discuss how to write and use a strategic plan for your life. If you haven’t already read the previous articles, I suggest you do so to get an overview of the topic. In this article I will be discussing the importance of knowing the purpose for your life —-

Whatever we think of ourselves and our lives, we are all here for a purpose. Your purpose is your reason for being here. There are no accidents in this well-orchestrated universe that is controlled by Almighty God. Your life on earth is no accident. God has you here for a purpose and it is important that you know what your purpose is because this can help you live a better life. Many of us have different ideas as to the purpose of our lives. I believe our purpose is to live consciously with God, to love, to learn, and to glorify God.

When God created man, he did so because he wanted man to live with him. He created man in his own image and likeness, spiritually. By breathing his breath or spirit into man, God ensured that man is part of him and that wherever man goes, God is. God also created man to love him, to love himself, and to love others for we are all part of him. As parts of God or members of God’s family, we were given commandments to live by. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). He also said that the second greatest commandment is, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39).

Notice that the Bible said that we are to love ourselves. It is sad that some of us do not love ourselves at times. As we know and remember who we truly are, those of us who do not love ourselves will come to do so, and the rest of us will love ourselves even more. If we truly love ourselves, we will think differently, speak differently, and act differently, and it may become easier to love our neighbors. We will think more highly of ourselves knowing that we are part of God. We will say better things about ourselves and speak blessings over ourselves and our lives. We will take time for ourselves and do special things for ourselves. We will take time for our spirits, develop our minds, and take better care of our bodies. We will engage in spiritual practices more often; be lifelong learners; and nourish, exercise, rest, dress, and cherish our bodies more.

As we love ourselves more, we may be better equipped to deal with our neighbors. Our neighbors are not just those who live near us, but also those who are around us at various times who, like us, are part of God. Once we remember that they are also part of God, we will treat them differently. As part of God, we are all spiritual beings in human bodies, and most of us are surrounded by many neighbors.

Additionally, as spiritual beings, we produce spiritual fruits, the greatest of which is love. When you love someone, you do things for them; you serve them in various ways. When Jesus asked Peter if he loved him and Peter said that he did, Jesus told him to feed his sheep, meaning his followers. Jesus was telling Peter one of the ways that he wanted him to demonstrate his love for him, and that was by serving him. As Mother Teresa reminded us, “The fruit of love is service.”

How do we serve? First, we learn to do different things, and then we do them for others and to others. We learn in different ways—for example, in formal educational settings, informally in social settings, through self-directed learning, by reading, by listening, by observation, and through doing various other things. The faster we learn, the better our lives tend to be.

Learning can be exciting and deeply fulfilling, especially when you enjoy what you learn. Learning can also be challenging as we go through various experiences in life, as some people discover during transformative learning. We are also here to learn about God, ourselves, life, and how to develop ourselves for success. As we learn and apply what we learn, we become better at what we do and eventually more successful.

In addition to living with God, loving, and learning, we are also here to glorify God. According to the Bible, God created man for his glory (Is. 43:7). As the apostle Paul advised, whatever we do, we should do it unto God and not unto man, and we should do it to glorify God. It doesn’t matter if what we do is great or small, we can do it to the glory of God. As we try to do this, we will become people of excellence, be more successful, and fulfill our purpose.

Have you ever stopped to think about your purpose? If so, are you passionate about it? If not, then ask yourself why not. If you have never focused on your purpose or you are not passionate about it, then I encourage you to take as much time as you need to focus on your purpose and on ways in which you can be passionate about it. Knowing our purpose explains the meaning of our lives and helps us to live better lives and succeed with our various missions in life.

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In the next article I will be discussing how to find your mission. Meanwhile, I would love to hear from you and about your progress, so please leave your comments below.

To learn more about how to improve your life, read Transform Your Life: 7 Steps to a Better Life.

Click the link below to download the first chapter FREE

Transform Your Life – 7 Steps to a Better Life – Chapter 1