Man was made by God, to be like God (Genesis 1:26). This means that man must find the direction for his life’s purpose in God, and from God.
No person can truly find their purpose outside of God, and even if we think that men have fulfilled purpose because of the great things they have done, the last requirement to be truly “fulfilled” is to be “in Christ”.
Many have risen; great warriors, great inventors, great rulers, great politicians, great athletes, great business authorities, and the list is endless. The truth is that if any man finds himself doing wonders and is without the recognition of God, then it is all work done equal to zero.
Here is what Jesus says, and He not only speaks this to His disciples and we as Christians, but to every person that lives on the earth. He says:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
- John 15:5-6 ESV
Finding Purpose in God
If we use the verses above, it will be sufficient to explain a lot of things about walking with God and aligning to Him, and what it all means.
Finding purpose is a fruitless journey outside of God. The first step to finding purpose is to be in Christ. God tells us that if we want to find our way in life and doing this in the ways that please Him, which He has destined for us, then we must first be born-again:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
The first step to finding purpose is to actually find yourself in the maker of your purpose. This identity was lost after the fall of man, and must be redeemed through oneness with God through Jesus Christ. It wasn’t like that in the old days, but is now the rule since Jesus came. Jesus is the way, truth and life. (John 14:6)
Like I said before, we may argue that the people that do not even know God have done much more with their time, intellect and gifts than those who claim to know Him. But God judges all things and we are privy to His verdict:
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” - Mark 8:36 ESV
There is no fulfilment of purpose without God involved.
Divine Alignment With God And Your Purpose
It goes without saying from what we have learnt above, that the true glory of a man is revealed in the glory of God. If any one wants to find purpose, then he must first be aligned with God his Maker.
When God first made man, his initial intention was to have fellowship with this man, and through this, man will gradually come to understand the purpose for his creation.
First there must be a fellowship:
“Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”
- Genesis 2:19 ESV
When we read carefully from the first verse of Genesis chapter 2, we see God and the man having a number of encounters before this day of the naming of animals. If we also continue to read further, we see the man effortlessly walking in God’s purpose and knowing that these animals were not suitable for him, but when God made a woman, he immediately knew the mind of God. (Genesis 2:22-23)
God was pleased with Adam, because we clearly see that God was not angry, and this meant that Adam was walking in his purpose for being created already.
In Conclusion
This is how men find purpose in God; first they find their life in Him and know that there is nothing they can do without Him. After they are found in Him and have been known by Him, then they remain infused and ingrafted, planted in His ways and His purpose for them.
Alignment with God brings the blessing from God. If we lose alignment and the understanding of our purpose, then we can only do so much and make so little impact, because then we would have lost true purpose.