You see and hear about many people in the news who do something meaningful for humanity – people with a clear purpose in life. But what about you? What is the purpose of your life?
If you have accepted Jesus in your life, you can ask more specifically: What does Jesus want me to do with my life? What does He want me to do in the years I am to live here on earth? The answer is that you, with Jesus as Lord and Master in your life, have a heavenly calling and a future that all the important people of this world cannot reach at all!
Jesus wants you to be His brother or sister in the kingdom of heaven!
Jesus had such a great longing for brothers and sisters, that He was willing to risk losing His eternal glory with God in order to get brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:29; Hebrews 12:2.) No one has ever risked more than Jesus to get something. Because He loved people, He came to the world and opened a way for us to come back to God. (Hebrews 10:20.) When you think about the risk He took, it becomes clear that Jesus wants you to walk on this way so that His desire could be fulfilled.
Jesus was the first One to live on earth without ever sinning – even though He was “tempted in every way that we are …” (Hebrews 4:15, CEB) and “fully human in every way …” (Hebrews 2:17, NIV.) In this way He proved that it was also possible for us to do the same – to follow Him in overcoming sin.
Every path has a beginning and an end. When you have decided to follow Jesus, you stand at the beginning of the path. At the end of that path is eternal glory. If you look up from the starting line and along the pathway, you can see the footsteps of all the saints who have walked on the way ahead of you. The oldest of all the footsteps are the ones Jesus left. (1 Peter 2:21.)
Jesus overcame all the sinful tendencies that He had inherited in His human nature without ever giving in to them. Now you can do the same in your daily life, in situation after situation – step by step.
Then you will be a follower of Jesus – a disciple.
Read also: Why can Jesus' gospel best be described as "the way"?
Jesus wants you to keep and teach His commandments
As a follower of Jesus, you have been given important tasks and a great responsibility. Jesus gave His disciples this task: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ...” Matthew 28:19. And then comes a very important part of the Great Commission: ”… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you!” How can you do that without first living it yourself?
Jesus did not mean that the disciples needed to start Bible schools or hold great lectures – no, they were to keep the commandments themselves and in that way be good ambassadors of Jesus. That is what Peter meant when he wrote, “You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT).
Now you can leave your own footsteps on the way that leads back to God. Maybe someone close to you will find eternal joy with Jesus because you were a good ambassador for Him? You could not wish for a greater purpose in life!