Purpose

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose” – Robert Byrne.

I have often wondered what is my purpose in life, what was I placed here for? I believe we all, at some point, ask ourselves this existential question. For if we don’t have a purpose on this earth, what is the point of it all?

A life of meaning is necessary for one to discover fulfillment. If we have no direction and are just wading through life aimlessly we could never be living our full potential. Around the age of 20 I started to ask myself what am I supposed to do? What has God put me here for? When I asked myself this question I was thinking career wise because, I mean, that’s what you’re going to be doing for the rest of your life but, I couldn’t think of any realistic career that would give me that sense of fulfillment. For a couple years I wrestled with this thought but, it wasn’t something very pressing. Even though I was active in school and had a career lined up and enjoyed many hobbies and the company of friends and family I still felt empty.

I always enjoyed spending time with God and engaging in any activity that involved Him, but that’s not to say every activity was a prayer meeting or mass. Sometimes we would watch a movie as a community or play games during a retreat. One day, the thought of purpose weighed heavy on my mind, I decided I needed to understand my purpose so I actively sought out books, videos, any material that would help me discover this. I entered into serious prayer and asked God to guide me and I was given the answer that shocked me – embarrassingly, I might add. That sense of fulfillment, that desire of purpose, I realized I had it all along, I was just too caught up to realize that my purpose, is found in God. Your purpose, your calling, your role on this earth is not your job or your career. It is your life and relationship with Christ. How you serve His kingdom and how you serve others. That is your purpose. Of course you can use your job or career to build up the

kingdom but, the job itself isn’t your calling. Not unless you’re “job” is religious life. Upon this discovery my life changed. I no longer woke up with this mundane attitude towards life. Everything seemed to have purpose now, school, my hobbies, the time spent with friends and family. Jesus Christ is the one who gives us our purpose, our reason for living. Without Him life has no purpose and without purpose life has no meaning. We are all searching for purpose which means we are all searching for God whether we know it or not. The words of Psalm 42 ring out forever true – “Like the deer that years for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you O God.”

By Ryan Ted