“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)
God has a special purpose for every human being. Not every purpose is “grand” from a human perspective, but to God, each one is important. Otherwise, why would He prepare these works beforehand, that we should fulfill them in our earthly life? Walking in your God-given purpose will bring satisfaction to your life. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.” (Jn. 4:34).
I think the first thing we should understand about our God-given purpose is that we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works”. The fact that we are now “in Christ” changes everything about our life. We have become an entirely new state of being (2Cor. 5:17). That means that we no longer live independently from God, but we are members of His Body. Our function, and thus our purpose, is found in Christ. This is our new reality. When we live from an eternal perspective, as members of Christ, our entire approach to life changes. We no longer do things to please ourselves, or others; we live to please God.
As the Apostle Paul explained, the Body is made up of many different members, each having a different function (Rom. 12:4). We do not choose what our function will be. “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” (1Cor. 12:18). We must not associate these functions with our value. Every member is important, not just the ones that are more visible. When the Lord returns, He will reward each man for his works; not according to our function, but according to our faithfulness (1Cor. 4:2). In the flesh, we value talents and positions of authority, but this only results in selfish ambition. “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” (Jas. 3:15,16). What God values is love which is patient and kind, not selfish, jealous, or arrogant (1Cor. 13:4). Our gifts are our enablement for service. How we serve is what matters.
When Paul testified before King Agrippa, he recounted the calling he received when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. “But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you.” (Acts 26:16,17). The calling came through a vision because of the greatness of the task, not because of Paul’s spirituality. Too often we compare ourselves because of our experiences, not realizing that these have more to do with gifts and callings than spiritual maturity. What was Paul’s response to this experience? “Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles…” (Acts 26:19,20). He was faithful to his calling.
Even with such a ministry, Paul still served God in the small things. While in Ephesus, he experienced such a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit that within two years, “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jew and Greek.” (Acts 19:10). When he met with the elders of Ephesus later, he reminded them that, “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:33-35). To Paul, working with his hands was also serving God. His testimony was not just words and miracles; it was a life lived in doing good.
A while later, he wrote to the Colossians, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Col. 3:17). He understood that to speak or act in the name of the Lord Jesus was to release the life of Christ through his own life. It was living in the spirit of prophecy, as the angel told the Apostle John: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10). Peter explained it this way: “Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.” (1Pe. 4:11). If our lives are hidden in Christ, and He is our life, then our testimony should be His life living through us (Col. 3:3,4).
Paul had a deep understanding of the Church. He understood that God the Father is preparing a Bride for His Son. When she has been made ready, she will “clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Rev. 19:8). A mature Bride will continue the ministry of Jesus, who “went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38). Her life is light shining in the darkness, just like the life of Jesus was the light of men (Jn. 1:4,5).
It is important to be faithful to our calling, but we must not forget that God expects us to be faithful also in the small things. The routine tasks of our lives may not seem important, but satisfaction comes when we realize that Christ is with us, working through us. Brother Lawrence called it “Practicing the Presence of God”.
Highway in the Wilderness 