Cleared for takeoff!
Romans 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For This Very Purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” (NKJV). (Emphasis mine).
Picture this – a Jumbo Jet, Boeing 747-400.
It has six million parts, 274 km of wiring, 68 Business Class passengers, 324 Pacific Class, weighing 394 tonnes. It has four Rolls Royce engines delivering 58,000lbs thrust, a cruising speed of 930kph, (258 m per second!), a range of 13,000km. The 747 fleet has logged more than 56 billion km – enough to make 74,000 trips to the moon and back.
Here it is, on the threshold of the runway, all loaded, ground crew have finished their work, the flight plan is in place, the passengers are on board, the cabin crew are all ready, the pilots are ready, the engines running, waitingfor that word from the control tower, “You’re cleared for takeoff!” This is it’s time!
Then, at the Captain’s command, the engines are gunned, the brakes released, and the full power and potential of its design and engineering is released, and that aircraft does what is was designed to do, fly! WOW!
That great big Jumbo Jet Boeing 747-400 finally fulfills its purpose, it flies. IT WAS DESIGNED TO FLY!
What a beautiful picture of the Church! Doing what it was designed to do, take off into its destiny and fly, to take people somewhere. What a beautiful picture of our lives! Doing what we were designed to do, take off into our destiny and fly, to go, and take people somewhere.
Could you and I answer that big question: “What on earth am I here for”?
How do we discover Our Own “This Very Purpose”.
Remember; Romans 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” (NKJV).
This Scripture comes from the 1st (Old) Testament, (Exodus 9:16) where we read that God raised up Pharaoh for three reasons:
i. In order to provide the occasion for an act of deliverance – Salvation.
ii. In order that God’s Name might be universally proclaimed.
iii. In order to show His glory
God does just the same with us. He raises us up and has a purpose for our lives for the same reasons.
There’s really just two ways to discover our purpose.
Firstly Speculation. We can speculate (guess) about the meaning of life, and our purpose. This is what most people do.
“Self-help books” even Christian ones, propose to help us find purpose and the meaning of life. Yet they all approach the subject from the same angle, a self-centred viewpoint. Usually they offer the same predictable advice: know your dreams, identify and clarify your values, set goals, be disciplined, believe in yourself, help others, give, never give up, feed your soul. All good advice.
But we can be amazingly successful, we can reach every goal and yet still miss the purposes God created us for, and miss that sense of fulfilment.
We need Motivation and encouragement and often it does come from these sources. But motivation and encouragement leaks, therefore we need constant input. We need to read widely and read wisely.
Secondly Revelation. The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask its creator.
God has not left us in the dark, He has given us His Word, which reveals our purpose, how we are to live, what to avoid, what to do, and what to expect in the future.
God is totally concerned about our Salvation and our Occupation. He gave us His Son to secure our Salvation, and He sent His Holy Spirit to anoint and empower us in our Occupation.
God’s Word tells us:
- Our General Purposes – common to us all: Worship, Discipleship, Connecting, Ministering, Witnessing.
- Our Specific Purposes – unique to just us: Business, Builder, Bus driver, Cook, Curator, Contractor, Pastor, Panel beater, Politician, Janitor, Journalist, Judge, Photographer, Physicist, Plumber, Seamstress, Shipbuilder, Secretary, Teacher, Theologian, Truck driver, Minister, Meteorologist, Missionary.
The 747-400 Jumbo Jet was designed to fly! But imagine the 747-400 Jumbo Jet looking across the airfield to the freight area and seeing a Truck, and saying: “If only I was a truck”.
Mind you it’s a Kenworth T909 Signature Series tractor unit, 600HP twin turbo Cummins ISX engine, with Ultrashift-Plus 22 speed transmission. Argh!
Imagine the truck looking over to the tarmac and seeing the 747-400 Jumbo Jet and saying: “If only I was a 747-400 Jumbo Jet”. It’s absurd, and wrong. The 747-400 Jumbo Jet was designed to fly and take people by air from Point A to Point B. The Kenworth truck was designed to carry heavy loads on the road from Point A to Point B.
The value of each is in the design, the build, and function of each; each can only fulfil its purpose in that way. In the same way comparing ourselves to someone with a different purpose is absurd, and wrong. So be what you are!
Ephesians 1:11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone. (The Message).
Knowing God and growing in Him is a sure way to discover more and more of the answer to that huge question; “What on earth am I here for?”
I believe God has a plan and a purpose for your life and mine, whether we’re on the outset of life or retired. He has a “… for this very purpose …“ for us. As you and I discover and grow in that, the Kingdom of God and the world is a better place.
