GIFTS MOST PRECIOUS: #3 The Gift of Purpose

By Dr. Gilbert W. Stafford

Scripture: Matthew 4:23, 28:19-20; Mark 1:39

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF WINDSOR 

In December of 1936, the world was shocked by the abdication of King Edward VIII of England. He had ascended to the throne only in January of that same year. He was in love with an American woman twice married and divorced, Wallis Warfield Simpson. Since such a marriage was not acceptable to the British public, he abdicated.

Last summer, I saw a television program hosted by Prince Edward of England about the life of his uncle, known after the abdication as the Duke of Windsor. He told about the Duke’s long life in exile from the royal family and from the United Kingdom. The program caught my attention because the Duke and Duchess had no sense of purpose other than to pamper themselves. A typical day at their home in France consisted of getting up rather late in the morning, spending enormous amounts of time dressing for the day, taking care of any business affairs that needed their attention, and then having a long social evening. They would always either join others for dinner, or entertain guests at their home, or if they did neither, they would have a formal meal of their own for which they would dress up as though going out. The Duke would stand for long periods waiting at the bottom of the stairs for the Duchess who often was late due to the length of time it took for her to get herself ready even for private meals.

They divided their time between France and the United States, and traveled around the world. The thing that struck me was how meaningless it all was. They lived in luxurious fashion from one day to another, decade after decade but without purpose. They simply moved through life.

One of the reasons the Duchess insisted that they have either a social engagement every night, or at least a formal meal just for the two of them, was to keep the Duke from becoming depressed and disinterested in life. The evening meals kept their boredom from becoming intolerable. The greatest tragedy, then, was not the abdication, but the lack of purpose in life. And that is true regardless of our station in life, isn’t it?

Sometimes when I drive through dilapidated sections of a town or city, I see people hanging aimlessly around the street corners or perhaps sitting in front of their houses with forlorn looks on their faces. It is as though they are simply enduring another day. They are not resting from their labors; instead, they are laboring with the almost unbearable burden of tolerating the boredom of yet another day. That happens both to people who live in the slums and to those who live in the sumptuous surroundings of a Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Status in life does not determine whether we have a sense of purpose. 

THE MAN FROM GALILEE 

Jesus of Nazareth, however, was a man with the glow of a divine purpose. Matthew 4:23 says that he “went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.”1 When Mark 1:39 tells about his ministry, it mentions also that he cast out demons. Jesus had a very clear picture as to what his life was about. It was about teaching a new way of life. It was about preaching the good news of the kingdom. It was about healing the sick and diseased. It was about casting out demons. He was a man with a divine purpose. And, furthermore, he came to give us divine purpose.

THE LIKES OF US 

Christ’s purpose for u s is two-fold. First he calls us to be his disciples, and second he calls us to make more disciples. That is our purpose in life. Our purpose is first of all to trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior and to be life-long learners at his feet. As one song puts it, “More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love who died for me.” It goes ahead to say, “More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern; Spirit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me.”2

We never get too old to learn more about Jesus. We never get too knowledgeable, or too mature in the faith, or too important, to learn more about Jesus. Since the circumstances of life are always changing, we need always to be learners at the feet of Jesus. We never get to the place where we no longer need to learn what it means to be Jesus’ follower in the circumstances in which we now find ourselves. The highest church official is still to be a learner at the feet of Jesus.

And the second part of the purpose which God in Christ gives to us is that of making disciples of others. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says to his disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20>teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded.” If the church is not in the disciple making business it may be very busy doing good things but it is not doing what the Lord calls it to do.

But how do we go about making disciples? Jesus says that we do it by baptizing people into God. Baptizing is about more than putting people under water. To be sure, it is about that, but the thing that makes the water experience relevant is that the people being baptized are led into the very life of God.

After baptism, then, we are to teach them what it means to follow Jesus in their daily lives. Making disciples is a matter both of introducing people into the life of God and of teaching them how to deal with life the Jesus way.

This matter of making disciples is the work that God gives all of us to do. We have the responsibility of working with fellow disciples to make more disciples. You may resist this idea because you are not by nature an outgoing person. You are frightened about the idea of taking a leadership role in this matter of making disciples. But the work of making disciples takes all kinds of people. It takes both up front and outgoing persons as well as behind the scenes and bashful persons. For instance, maybe the behind the scenes, bashful person will take care of the kids of the up front, outgoing person as the latter does the more public tasks of making disciples. Both are working together to make disciples. Whatever the case, all of us are called to be part and parcel of Christ’s disciple making people. The divine purpose is the same for all of us, first of all to be humble disciples who are learning more and more about Jesus for as long as we live, and second, to be involved in disciple making. It makes no difference whether one is the pope of Rome or the usher in the storefront church in Detroit. It makes no difference whether one is aristocrat or pauper. The divine purpose is the same, to be a life-long disciple, and to make more disciples.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

How blessed are those who have accepted this best of all presents—the divine gift of purpose in life. One of the things that I admire so much about the former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is that he knows who he is. When he was president he was first and foremost a disciple of Jesus involved in making disciples. While in the White House, he continued teaching a Sunday school class in a Washington church just as he had done in Plains, Georgia. When Carter lost his bid for reelection, and left the most powerful office in the world, he did not, however, lose his purpose for living. Although his election defeat was a bitter disappointment, he was not thereby destroyed. He did not spend his time merely crawling from one day to the other until finally he could crawl into the grave as a defeated man. Instead, his life continues to be vibrant because he possesses the gift of a divine purpose. He is a disciple joining with other disciples to make more disciples. On the Sundays when he is at home in Plains, he still teaches a Sunday school class at a local Baptist church. Furthermore, he shares his time and energy with an organization called Habitat for Humanity which builds houses with and for low income people. Just last summer he was off to Eastern Europe, hammer in hand, to help build some houses. His purpose is to be a life-long disciple of Jesus and to be involved in the business of helping others to be disciples as well. He has the Christmas joy of the gift of a divine purpose for living. Christ was born to give us that gift.

My friend, have you yet received the gift of God’s purpose for your living? It will make all the difference in the world. You may receive many gifts this Christmas but have you accepted the most important one—God’s purpose for your life?

PRAYER

Let us pray:

Gracious Lord, giver of every good and perfect gift, work in our hearts this day to the end that we will receive your good gift of divine purpose for living. May we learn more and more about Jesus for as long as we live. Empower us to do whatever little bit we can do to make disciples. This we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

1 New Revised Standard Version used here and throughout.
2 Eliza E. Hewitt, “More About Jesus Would I Know” in Worship the Lord: Hymnal of the Church of God (Anderson: Anderson, 1989), No. 491.

Script 2607 (GWS)
December 16, 1996
SERIES: GIFTS MOST PRECIOUS
3. The Gift of Purpose
Scripture: Matthew 4:23, 28:19-20; Mark 1:39

FREESTANDING COMPONENT OF THE PROGRAM

On each program this month, I am announcing that at the end of this year I shall be terminating as speaker after having served for a decade. This has been a time of rich fulfillment and cherished experiences. Now, however, I need to turn to other responsibilities.

I’m glad to tell you that coming to this assignment is a wonderful preacher of the gospel by the name of Jim Lyon. He and his wife Maureen have four young sons all still at home.

You will have the privilege of hearing Jim Lyon on CBH for the first time in January. He comes to this assignment with a passion for radio—a passion that I like. For instance, not long ago he said that “the church must be about the business of reclaiming the world for Christ,” and that he is convinced that CBH can help do that.

I wholeheartedly agree with Jim Lyon. I look forward to his ministry on CBH, and am convinced that he will do a wonderful job articulating the Christian message of hope which people the world over desperately need to hear.