From Creation to CallingSample

Have you ever achieved an important goal? Maybe you made the varsity football team, or you were accepted into the college of your dreams. How did you feel when you got there? You couldn’t wait to arrive, but if you’re honest, it didn’t really bring you the long-lasting joy or satisfaction you expected. We’ve all experienced it. You achieve a goal or an accomplishment, only to discover that the satisfaction is fleeting. So you push your sights out a little further to the next goal and convince yourself that your life will be totally different once you achieve, arrive or accomplish it. The joy of getting into your top school is soon lost in fear of keeping up or wondering if you’ll get along with your roommate. The feeling of value and importance at the championship win, valedictorian speech, or viral post only lasts for a few weeks or even days. The truth is that you were made for so much more. You were made for eternity. The Bible describes us as being citizens of a heavenly kingdom living in a foreign land. You live, you love, and you laugh, but you are deeply aware that there is something more even in your greatest moments of joy or sorrow. The ‘right now’ is not all there is for you.

But in the dash, the life you live between the date of your birth and the date of your death on your memorial stone, God has a purpose and a plan for your work here that will resound throughout eternity. Every verse you read, every worship song you sing, and every moment you spend in God’s presence calls out to remind you that there will be a day when Jesus returns as King and welcomes us into a new place, where we can experience the fullness of God’s presence and joy forever. There will be a day when your joy is made complete, but until then, you have work to do: serve the Lord.

Reflection Questions:

1. Are there milestones or achievements that you have counted on to provide you with an identity? Have they been a source of lasting satisfaction?