Is My Sole
Purpose of Living for Soul’s Purpose?
“Not
long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant
country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. Luke 15:13 (NIV)
Losing our way in this world is easy. One
step in the wrong direction can lead us down a dead-end road. Everywhere we
turn, neon signs and flashing lights entice us to buy whatever is being sold.
The personal philosophy adopted by many has become, “Life would be great if I
could just do whatever I want, whenever I want, with whomever I want.”
Jesus told the story of one son who
decided to take his inheritance early and head out on life’s open highway where
he could be his own boss, answer to no one but himself, and live footloose and
fancy-free. In the beginning, all seemed to be going great. The money was
flowing, so that meant the very best of everything, starting with some new
clothes, a nice apartment, and parties every night with gourmet food and free
drinks for all his friends. His living was lavish, but life seemed to be
getting a little darker every day. What was supposed to be fulfilling and
freeing only brought emptiness and bondage. Hard times came, as they often do,
and this young man was not ready because he had wasted his wealth. Out of
money, he discovered that his “friends” were nowhere to be found, and the once
king of the hill found himself as a servant of slop, where his only friends
were eating better than he was. How did this happen to him? How does anyone
wind up living in life’s pigpen?
This process begins by being focused on
self. Pursuing selfish desires instead of being committed to God begins the
downward spiral that leads to serving the swine instead of serving the
sovereign King. We all must come to the point where we see our own poverty of
spirit. We must experience our own personal hunger for the things of God before
we can ever hope to get out of life’s pigpens.
This realization led the prodigal son to
come to his senses or, as Jesus said, “He came to himself” (Luke 15:17). We are
never living as God intended when our sole
purpose is not living for our soul’s
purpose. When we live for ourselves while we should be living for God, our only
hope of finding our way home is to come to our senses. This realization sparked
within the prodigal son a deep desire to return to his father because he came
to see that only in his father’s house could he experience true freedom. Upon
his son’s return home, the father, who had been watching and waiting all this
time for his son’s return, was filled with great joy and celebrated with a feast.
The way home to our heavenly Father begins
with the realization that this life is not about doing whatever we want,
whenever we want, with whomever we want. We must see that we are headed for
something worse than a pigpen unless we come to our senses and see our own sinfulness
and rebellion against our heavenly Father. When we repent and return to our
Father, we find that He has been watching and waiting for us, and his heart is filled
with great joy when we return home: “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in
the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (verse 10).
It’s never too late to leave the pigpen
and return home. Let our sole purpose be living for our soul’s purpose.
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