What are some goals in your life? And what is your purpose in life? What’s the difference?
I’d like to think of the difference in these terms: goals equate to “things I want to do/have/be” and purpose is why you set those goals for yourself.
Shortly before I became a Christian, I noticed a pattern in my life–I had set many goals for myself, but had no real purpose for my life. It went something like this: I wanted to graduate near the top of my high school (a goal). Why? Because I wanted to go to a good college (another goal). Why? Because I wanted a good job (yup, goal), so then I can start a family, and then find a place to live, and then retire comfortably, and then… My life was being wasted away chasing after one goal after another, with no real meaningful purpose for my life.
What is your purpose in life? I think most people instinctively know that this purpose has to be greater than the sum total of one person’s desires and wants. When we think of “life’s purpose” we tend to and ought to grapple with things like truth, justice, character, loftiness, sacrifice, compassion, love — some of the best qualities about being human.
So this semester we grapple with these questions in light of what the Bible says we are created for…
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