Finding the answer to the question “What shall we do with our lives?” was a very personal quest for us—a journey necessitating wrestling with questions such as “What is our main purpose here?” and “Am I doing all I can for God and my brothers and sisters?” We both have a strong determination to do the best we can, especially to give something to this world of our birth before we leave here. While our departure should not be imminent, we are no longer youngsters with what seems to be forever before us (to youthful minds). So, we set forth on a very personal adventure to discover the answer to a question we had been seriously asking ourselves for several years about what we personally should do with our lives. To our surprise we seem to have discovered an answer which is relevant to everyone.
The purpose of your life here on earth in the material world is to express God as well as you are able through your body, mind, soul and personality. That is what Jesus did; and if you choose to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, that is what you are called to do too: to live a God-revealing life. You discover God. You become enamored with his goodness and beauty. You desire to be like him. Through steadfast faith, sincere decisions and courageous actions, you do grow more like him. You are transformed progressively from the self-centered child to the serving, giving, loving, and more mature child of the universe. All of these events contribute to your one basic purpose: to express your Father God with your life.
Once you recognize what the purpose of life is, it remains to find a way to achieve that purpose. The way you can do it is to live in daily, intimate association with God, seeking his guidance for your every decision, whether large or small, and following his guidance as best you understand it. This spiritual connection is made through intelligent prayer and sincere, admiring contemplation of God’s gentleness, generosity friendliness and all the rest of his multitude of virtues. Earnestly and constantly seeking to do God’s will is the place to start. This initiates spiritual change. All else will follow naturally
Following God’s Will
Each individual child of God will seek and find his Father’s will in his own unique way, but it does help to know how other people have experienced guidance to God’s will. Here are some examples drawn from our own lives and those of some of our friends (names have been changed).
In Susan’s life, God’s guidance comes for the most part unconsciously. She prays for direction and insight in making decisions. She persistently returns to the question, “What would God do here?” She maintains an insistence that only God’s will be done. She seldom feels a leading or hears an inner voice, yet in retrospect she usually recognizes the wisdom of her choices. She feels an assurance that somehow the spirit has led her to make the highest choice.
On one occasion when a major life decision was demanding an immediate decision, Susan sat down in an outdoor spot where she was unlikely to be disturbed and laid the problem before God. “I have done all I can, God, to find your will in this situation. I’ve given it time. I’ve prayed. I’ve gathered information. I’ve analyzed it from all sides. I still don’t know what to do. I must give my answer today. I need your help and I’m not getting up from here until I get it.” There was no authoritative voice, no vision, nothing she could put a finger on. Yet after a while, Susan knew the choice which was best for her. She got up and acted on the decision.
Stan frequently carries on an inner dialogue about whatever decisions are upcoming in his life. He asks all sorts of questions and often receives answers. He does not presume that every answer he hears from “the inner voice” is God’s will. Instead, he accepts these answers just as he would from a friend whose judgment has proven to be wise. He gives them serious consideration, and often acts as they suggest.
Richard’s inner dialogue is even more constant than Stan’s. In presenting seminars, he frequently checks for confirmation before speaking to be sure he is in harmony with this inner guiding voice. He accepts every life experience which comes his way with a sense of anticipation in the conviction that he is experiencing his individual life here on earth for God. Consequently he treats everything that happens in life as being somehow consistent with God’s will.
Gail receives much of her inspiration in writing. She may wake up in the middle of the night (probably because her small children keep the daytime hours so occupied) with the feeling that she should do some writing.
Sure enough, ideas on the questions she has been pondering will come forth. Gail’s dreams also seem to be more instructive than most people’s, imparting some helpful insights into herself or her life challenges.
Robin starts each day with a prayer that God will use her for his ends during that day. This habit keeps her sensitive to opportunities which arise during the day to contribute to someone else’s life in some loving way. Her life has grown steadily richer and more fulfilling. She makes sure to have prayer time each morning because it always seems to make the day go better. She always takes the time to pray when friends have special needs.
Linda expects God’s active participation in her efforts to help others. She relaxes into the moment in confidence that her desire to help the person in need will call forth the spirit. Whether it is through her words or actions or some direct ministry to the one in need, she experiences the spirit working with her and through her.
These are only a few examples of ways in which people we know are seeking to find and do God’s will daily. There are many other ways, including meditation, mindfulness, writing letters to God, keeping a spiritual diary, playing or listening to music, doing or appreciating art, engaging in visualizations of spiritually stimulating scenes, and more.
Loving and Serving Humanity
The first priority of life is to establish your own unique personal relationship with God, to seek to know his will, to be led by the spirit. Then follows the doing of his will: serving your brothers and sisters. A real relationship with God is the first priority because God is the source of your desire to serve and your ability to serve joyfully. You are not on your own in your attempt to live a God-revealing life. Your sincere desire to do God’s will sets in motion all sorts of spiritual aid. If doing his will is your true goal, then God will help you to do it, whether he leads you unconsciously or with your conscious awareness and active cooperation.
God has promised you his cooperation. You have only to maintain a sincere desire which includes being willing to act on what you think is his will. If you truly and sincerely seek to know and follow God’s will, you will begin to feel urges to help others. Your next step is simply to give in to those urges. Your service need not wait until you feel you have attained a high spiritual level. The urge to serve usually comes quickly. It can and should be followed quickly with caring, loving actions in your daily life.
Serving starts right where you are. Service does not require major planning or changing your earthly career. It should not be put off until some distant future when the children are grown, when you have more money, when the job allows more time, when you retire, or when you heed the call to service, leave your job and go into full time ministry.
You can be serving in a very meaningful way right now by becoming aware of the real needs of those around you and ministering to them intelligently. It does not require rearranging your life, but it does require an inner change of attitude. You only have to desire and then cooperate with God’s efforts. He will give you the new attitude you have asked for.
The baby sees its older siblings running off to school or play and longs to do likewise. In the beginning, however, he must take one step at a time and cling to the furniture. In your early service life you can keep your eye on the inspiring future while mastering the simple gifts of daily life. In fact, your relationship with God is fed by these small acts of service as well as by prayer and worship.
What does serving in your daily life look like? Anything that expresses affection, kindness, friendliness, or respect is service. Exerting yourself even a little to make another feel loved is service. It can be a kind or encouraging word, a smile, a door held open, a meal for a shut-in, financial assistance, a clean house, a job well done, a helping hand, advice when it’s sought, a wise silence, ignoring errors, critical feedback given in love, setting an example, teaching useful skills, creating inspiring beauty, listening from the heart, forgiving, deciding justly, behaving mercifully, a quiet visit, an exhortation to excellence, living according to your values, or doing your chores. The possibilities are endless, yet there is something more you can do.
Proclaiming the new good news.
Jesus reminded his followers to spread his good news of the kingdom – eternal service in the spiritual kingdom of God is yours if you have the supreme desire to do the Father’s will coupled with the supreme joy of attending to the needs of others unselfishly and lovingly without condition. To virtually every one of the 19 groups to whom he appeared following his resurrection, Jesus said, “Proclaim my good news.”
Let’s explore this call to proclaim the good news a bit. Just what is the good news you are to proclaim? It is, quite simply that God is a living reality, a loving Father — whom you can personally know and experience by faith. Your part is to join in a relationship with him. His will for you is that you become his partner in his great adventure of the experience of becoming like God through the lessons of life. He will guide you into spiritual maturity if you seek to know and do his will. All people are your brothers and sisters whom your Father will help you to love and serve as he does.
Proclaiming the good news can be as simple as sharing your own spiritual experience with a friend. In fact, that’s probably the most effective way because your friend can observe the fruits of your spiritual experience in your daily life. You can proclaim the good news to a casual acquaintance or even a total stranger if the moment seems right (if the spirit leads). It’s a simple process: When you live daily in partnership with the spirit, it shows in your life, your actions, attitudes, and interests. Spirituality comes up in your conversation naturally and opportunities arise to share truth. When these opportunities arise, you want to be sure to share the most important truth of all — God is a real and living Father whose presence we can feel. We are his cherished and carefully nurtured children, and we can consciously live our lives in partnership with him and share his breath-taking adventure.
And that is proclaiming the good news.
Without question, the good news should be lived, but it needs to be stated as well as lived. You cannot simply live a loving life and expect those who participate in your life to understand that the motivation for your loving lifestyle is God’s love flowing through you. Proclamation of the good news benefits from the direct expression of your motives for living as you do. Such a simple process may seem too easy, but proclaiming the good news with your life can require courage. Dropping the spiritual into your conversation can be daunting at first. Taking a moral or an ethical stand in your business decisions can cost money or even a job. Proclaiming the good news can require determination as anyone knows who has raised a child with good values in spite of the constant media message that getting what you want is the objective of life.
Living a life of goodness and loving service will eventually reprioritize all of your life. It will invade all of your choices about where to spend your time and energies. It will color all of your thinking. This quiet, personal ministry is powerful. Even so, it may seem too small, too insignificant to be the service to which you are called.
It may well be that you will have additional tasks, even a prominent public ministry to perform, but it is essential from the beginning to establish your own personal relationship with God and grow into the habit of responding to the needs of those in your personal presence. If at some point you choose a service more public than daily personal ministry, being experienced In seeking and following God’s will for your life will Insure that what you choose to do will be done God’s way, and that your every activity in your public ministry will be done with the benefit of a dynamic communion partnership with God upon which you may rely to adjust your will to God’s will.
So, what should you do with your life? Live every moment in partnership with God. Do your best to reveal God’s nature in your attitudes and behavior. Sincere effort is what matters, not perfection.
