The dictionary defines purpose as "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists."
Some spend their entire lives searching for their purpose, but I believe all of our purpose can be summed up in something as simple as loving God and loving people. The very reason for which we were created is to worship God and make his name known and to love others with everything we've got.
One of the tangible ways we can love others is by meeting their physical needs. In Acts chapter 2, we see the early church coming together and unifying themselves. When someone in the body was in need, the believers gave what they had to meet that need. There was unity in the body and no lack among them, and because of this verse 47 says, "... the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
When the church comes together to fellowship and love on each other, we find our needs being met and lives being changed.
In 1995, the Lord spoke to me about building a lighthouse symbolic of the light of Jesus which is a beacon of hope and the light of the world.
A lighthouse is a structure that shines light in the darkness to lead people to safety. God called us as Christians to be that lighthouse in the world.
In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us that we are to be the salt and the light of the world. At lighthouse, we have adopted the mission "Go, Grow, and Give."
We GO to reach people who are far from God, whatever it takes.
This requires creative evangelism, so we have started organization like Hope International, a disaster relief non profit organization designed to meet the needs of those who have suffered from a disaster in their life.
Because we know God cares about every part of us, we began Smiles of Hope, a low cost dental program. I never dreamed God would use us to recreate smiles with this dental program for eight years. Every month, we see hundreds of lives changed by God, simply because their need of dental care was met.
As we GO, we cannot forget to GROW in our relationship with God. Sometimes we get caught up in going and going that we forget the main focus of why it is that we go. So many times I have found myself chasing after a dream God has given me but doing it in my own strength. I have had to stop many times and remind myself that the "God" things can turn into just "good" things if we try to do it on our own.
Finally, we GIVE ourselves to glorify God. Our lives our not our own, we were bought with a price: the precious blood of Jesus. For that, we give ourselves away so that God can use us to do whatever it is that he chooses.
Most of us remember the song we sang as children, "Took him just a week to make the sun and the stars, the moon and the earth, and Jupiter and Mars. But how loving and patient he must be, 'cause he's still working on me."
We are a work in progress, he is the potter and we are the clay. If we allow him, he will break us and mold us into a perfect masterpiece whose life glorifies him and light shines for all to see.
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Editor's Note: This is a regular series featuring area religious leaders writing about faith, family and community. To participate or suggest a church, contact us at news@darnews.com or 573-785-1414.
Pastors Tim and Tina Russell have been pastoring for 25 years and founded Lighthouse Church in 1993. They have been married 34 years and have five children. On the web: www.lighthouseofdexter.org