©Heidi Bratton Photography
How many times have you heard someone ask the question: “What am I supposed to be doing with my life?” “Why am I here?” Too many to count, right?
It seems too, that it is not a simple answer they want, but a large, extravagantly specific answer. They want answers directly from the source; definitive and obvious to their quest for purpose. Not very many get these answers handed to them on a memo pad like that.
However, there IS a simple purpose of life answer in three short words: know, love, and serve God. That’s it, no real splash, just three perfectly small words. No, I am not being sarcastic, facetious, or otherwise silly, just to the point. These three words are plain and simple, but for each and every one of us, they represent something very individual, let me show you.
The first, to KNOW God is to acknowledge Him and everything that He is to you. Not what someone else thinks He is or what you want Him to be, but who He is to you. How you relate to Him, as God, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, etc. this is how you begin to know Him. God is all knowing, almighty, and all places, but He is also special to you as an individual.
Do you love Him, trust Him, and depend on His graces to get you through the tough spots in life? To KNOW Him also means to let others know you know Him, don’t keep God to yourself; share your knowledge of His presence in your life. “He who hears you, hears me.” (Luke 10:16)
The second, to LOVE God. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t want you to LOVE him out of fear of punishment; He wants you to love Him for who He is and what He has done for you in your life. God wants us to come to him with abandon; no strings attached, solely to be His child, His chosen people. He wants us to have faith and hope in Him, to trust Him in all things. God wants us to be with Him for eternity, but He waits for us to make the first move. He loves us and we must learn to LOVE Him.
And finally, to SERVE God means to take the KNOWLEDGE and LOVE we have for Him and take it to the streets! Let others know about His Word in the Sacred Scriptures, His love by showing love to others (especially our enemies) and do for those of the least of our brothers in serving the poor and lonely. God wants us to find ways to serve His creation as stewards. We need to be Christ in the world, teaching prayer, sacrifice, and charity to our neighbors.
So this doesn’t help with the specific answers on the purpose of life? Well, it’s amazing how when someone turns to God in prayer, a relationship begins to develop, and things begin to happen. In trusting God more and more, He provides ways to see what is otherwise cloudy in our hearts. God has an amazingly perfect way of parenting us through life so that we are the ones doing most of the work, but finding such peace and confidence along with way.
The three little words, KNOW, LOVE, and SERVE God will show you what you need to know for your purpose in life. Just start with the first one and the rest will follow.
