Finding Purpose in Christ

Seeking the Lord in a prideful world.

What is my purpose?

This question will grapple each of us at some point in our lives. It seems to be even more prevalent in today’s society because of the many meaningless things we put our identity in and how easy it is to compare our lives to others online.

Purpose is what often drives us. So, where does our purpose come from?

A purpose-driven life

The world views purpose in light of so many things, including your social media status, how much money you have, your job, physical beauty, body count, political views, and more. And so, these things have become what defines today’s generation and their (collective) identity and calling. Their purpose is found within, leading to more narcissism, pride, and selfishness.

It’s no wonder this generation is filled with so much anxiety, depression, and fear. The things this world will tell us to do and work towards have left today’s generation and culture without true fulfillment, freedom, or hope.

Relying on ourselves for purpose and worth leaves us empty. We’re so chronically online that we forget to live in the present instead of through the internet. We’re so concerned about pleasing others we forget to do what is right or remember what is true. And we’re never fulfilled, so we continue chasing meaningless things, prizes, and pleasures.

If you look to society for guidance, they will tell you exactly how to live, even though that standard will change. Yet, the trends of harmful and sinful ideologies that defy God have been around for many years, and they continue to grow and infiltrate people’s lives today (whether by adopting it internally or being impacted by it externally).

The world wants us to continue to rely on the whims of temporary satisfaction, immediate gratification, and for us to remain in our sin. It’s because of this we’re continually spoon-fed fear and lies. Then, we eventually turn back to finding purpose within ourselves and the current narrative instead of God.

(Side-note: notice how modern culture loudly declares what they think constitutes as “Christian”, but it isn’t even true, biblical Christianity.)

When we look inward we will only find more brokenness, fear, and selfishness. That doesn’t even begin to cover the many other sinful desires of our flesh.

We are not meant to live by our own strength. In fact, we are all broken and sinful:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23 CSB

Sin keeps us enslaved to our flesh and separated from God. We are dead in our sins (Romans 6:23). When we are in our sin, our purpose is bent towards our flesh (inward).

This world is broken. We will not find peace, fulfillment, or freedom from our sin from the fleeting things this world offers.

But here’s the good news: God made a way for us to be made right with Him! It is only because of God that we are brought from death to life.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 ESV

“We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!” Ephesians 2:3-5 CSB

“And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14 CSB

We will only find true life and purpose in Jesus. He makes us a new creation!

Another great passage comes from the book of John, where we see that Jesus is the Word:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4 ESV

Let me encourage you today: it is because of God, the Creator of the universe who lovingly and intentionally formed each of us, that we have a purpose.

Don’t let the world deceive you. When they say there is no God or that we came from nothing or apes, all that will leave us with is no purpose and a meaningless life that amounts to nothing but the cosmic void.

Society wants you to hang on their every whim and to do everything they say or emulate because that’s most profitable for them. All across the internet, we’ve seen the evils and dangers that come from this movement of narcissism, inner truth, and immediate self-gratification. (These are things like post-modernism, relativism, which is a society with no absolute truth or morality, the sexual revolution, elevation of the self over God, and the many consequences that stem from these types of ideologies.)

But God redeems us. When we put our faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, we don’t have to rely on our own strength or control every outcome; we are safe in His hands.

There will still be troubles and suffering—Jesus promises that. Yet, we get the chance to seek God in the midst of life’s highs and lows, know He is with us (and live like it!), and steward well what He has given us. The Christian life is one of surrender and walking by faith in Christ.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?’” Matthew 16:24-26 CSB

We are made in the image of God

As humans, we are all made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). Yet, we don’t meet up to God’s standards of holiness and righteousness. We are not enough on our own (see Romans 3:23). In fact, without God, we are nothing.

We are only here by God’s grace. He created each of us, and we become His children when we put our faith in Him!

God is the Creator, we are the creation. He is the Potter, we are the clay.

The world will tell us we don’t need to rely on anyone, but relying on ourselves only leads to more exhaustion and depression because we will always fall short. We won’t live up to the perfect standard because we are human, in our flesh, and are born into sin and a fallen world.

No one is perfect but God. He is holy, perfect, and righteous, and He’s the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The only One who didn’t sin is the One who bore our sin on the cross: Jesus, God in flesh.

“Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — in heaven and on earth and under the earth — and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 CSB

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:15-17 ESV

Being made in God’s image does not mean we become co-creators with God or that we should elevate ourselves on a pedestal. Many spiritual influencers today will try to convince you of this prideful ideology. They will use Christian language, but do not mean the same things as Christians traditionally do. That’s one reason why it’s so important to know your Bible!

A great and mind-blowing book I recommend on this topic is called Happy Lies: How a Movement You (Probably) Never Heard Of Shaped Our Self-Obsessed World by Melissa Dougherty.

Again, we are God’s creation and He is the Creator. In fact, Psalm 139 says He knit us together in our mother’s womb. Isn’t that so cool?

Since we are made in His image, this means we are supposed to be representatives of God here on earth. Though we have all sinned, God makes us new (through faith) in Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB

I recommend this article from Got Questions about what it means to be made in God’s image.

We are not animals. We’re not gods or angels (and we can’t become them either).

As humans, we can never meet God’s standard of holiness, goodness, and righteousness on our own. We are merely human, still in our flesh.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 CSB

God still moves in our broken world, in us.

When we believe in Jesus, we become a brand new creation, and this is only by the power of God. The blood of Jesus makes us clean (Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 1:9, Colossians 1:20). The Holy Spirit then comes to live in us, and God renews and grows us. He leads us and we must choose to take the next step by faith.

Having good morals will not save. Doing good things cannot save. Reaching a certain state of consciousness or meditation will not save or fulfill you. Believing everything the world tells you to blindly accept/champion will not save or give you a worthy purpose. Doing, saying, and listening to all the trendy things will not give you purpose or save you. Becoming the center of your own universe will not save you.

Only Jesus saves.

True purpose can only come from God. Our purpose comes from our Creator.

Does God really have a purpose for me?

I want to point you to a few more Scripture passages:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 CSB

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 ESV

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

If God did not have a purpose for you and me, we would not be here. He didn’t create us as an afterthought!

He has placed us where we’re at for a reason, and we get the chance to walk faithfully and in obedience to His commands right where we’re at, even in the midst of trials, inner turmoil, and the good times.

You may be discouraged from and envious of seeing others succeeding and doing everything you’ve dreamed about (and most of the time we find this online), but you were not created to be like them. God created you for His purpose and for His glory, so turn away from yourself and your covetousness and back to Him. Trust God with your desires and surrender those feelings at His feet.

(I wrote some faith-based blogs related to these topics, which are linked throughout this blog, and they will be listed at the end of this page. I would encourage you to read those as well!)

So what should I do now that I know where my purpose comes from?

Walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel

When we are saved and cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we will never be the same. Of course, we’ll always be growing and being sanctified, but that does not mean we have an excuse to keep living a sinful lifestyle.

In fact, we see many times when Jesus healed someone in response to their faith, He told them to go and sin no more. Colossians says to put off/put to death our old selves and our earthly, sinful nature (2:20, 3:1-5). Paul also says it this way in Romans:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Romans 6:1-2 ESV

Being a new creation does not mean we should go back to live comfortably in our old lifestyle. We have to make the choice to surrender to the Lord, seek Him, and walk by faith. Relying on Him and living in obedience are daily decisions.

If our purpose is in God and comes from God, we can and should trust Him to guide us. His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Even though we’ll still make mistakes, we shouldn’t be living purposefully in sin (especially those the Bible clearly says to turn from).

We’re also called to be a light in this dark world. Since we’re made new and clean, we should look and act different than the world.

Jesus is our foundation, and we can stand on the truth confidently and speak it boldly.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth, testing what is pleasing to the Lord. Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:8-11 CSB

“for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” Philippians 2:13-16 ESV

Though our works do not save us, they come as a result and response to the grace we’ve received. Fruit grows from the roots (and it’s God that does the growing—1 Corinthians 3:7, John 15).

Reaching some unattainable level of perfection (from within yourself or to show off to others) is unrealistic and will only lead to more emptiness and pain. Living for God means we don’t have to rely on ourselves or others to give us worth. Rather, our worth is rooted in what Christ did for us on the cross.

And now we get to be a light to others! God has placed each of us where we’re at for a purpose so that we might give Him glory and praise and to be a light in this dark world, preaching the Gospel and exposing darkness.

Truth will offend those who are lost, but remember that we cannot save others. Only God saves. Even when others hate you, persecute you, or look down on you, that does not mean your purpose or Truth is hateful (or any type of phobia)—it merely reveals others’ heart posture towards Christ and the Gospel.

Sin and evil are real, but we are not defined by them anymore. We are defined by the blood of Christ, and our worth comes from our Creator.

This purpose is not something we should take for granted. Will we be faithful where God has us today?

Knowing your Bible is also a super important part of this. We must love God first to love others best, and we can do that through reading His Word and being intentional in spending time with Him (which will lead to obedience to His commands as He continues to grow us).

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commands.” John 14:15 CSB

Learn to read and properly study your Bible, understand what God says, and obey Him. We might not fully understand everything in the Bible (our finite minds can only grasp so much!), but we can mediate on it and be prayerful, trusting where the Holy Spirit is leading us.

When we aren’t near to God and don’t know the Bible very well, it’s easier to be swayed by false doctrine and the lies the world tries to sell us.

Here are a few things that might be influencing your mindset, identity, or purpose:

1) The music you listen to.

The music you listen to has so much power in your life. What you put in your mind will eventually come out.

It’s easy to say that you’re just having fun, but the words you say and consume affect your mindset, mood, and eventually how you view yourself and the world.

Listening to songs that defy God and His ways will impact you, even if it doesn’t seem like it in the moment. Why listen to songs by people who only want your money and hate what you believe? (Think about it this way: would non-believers want to listen to songs that praise God because of the vibes? Definitely not!)

On the other hand, there are many Christian artists that do not have good theology in their music (often in the form of bad writing or overly-emotional lyrics).

I would encourage you to be mindful of the words being spoken in any song and test them to see if they align with God’s Word (this is also a good standard for pastors, influencers, and other things as well). Be mindful of the anti-Christian and New Age ideologies being pushed in today’s music industry.

2) Who you follow online/the media you consume.

The things you consume on social media and elsewhere on your phone impact your mind as well.

Who we follow will affect our worldview and how we think about certain things.

Are the accounts/things you follow good, positive, and glorifying God? Or are they negative, downgrading, and pushing you away from God?

You have control over who you follow and what you look at on social media. You have the choice to put these things, images, and words into your mind. And when social media companies choose to shove perversion and sinful things in your feed, you don’t have to give those things the time of day or ground in your thoughts.

There are also many things online and other media forms (like TV, movies, etc.) that are good, but they can easily be put above of God. Watching or doing something good isn’t necessarily wrong unless it takes priority above God in our lives.

Many other things like this can be good or fine, but they might not be useful.

We need to have discernment with what we choose to put into our minds and be aware of how those things affect us. Sometimes, all it takes to recognize this is taking a break from social media. I encourage you to read your Bible and pray for wisdom and discernment in these areas if you’re struggling.

3) What you wear.

Clothes can make such a statement about our personality and style. Our worth, however, shouldn’t come from our outward appearance.

I’ve written about modesty and beauty in a few blogs already, but I mention this again because it’s such an important topic!

The world wants you to dress provocatively and show off more of your body so you seem more appealing to others. (It might not be advertised that way, but that’s what ends up happening.)

Fashion trends constantly change and old things come back in style. Modern clothing continues to become less about being adorned and honoring God with the body He’s given us. We’ve ended up seeing these trends changing dramatically (and away from God) before our eyes.

Modesty is one’s inward heart posture before God being reflected outward. That doesn’t mean we can’t be fashionable or wear cute outfits, but it does mean we need to seek God with what we’re wearing and trust Him when He says something in His Word. (I personally think modest clothes tend to be more fashionable than not!)

If our purpose is not found in Christ, we will easily be consumed with our appearance, wearing all the latest trends and being more concerned with what people think of us rather than what God thinks and says.

4) Your emotions.

Your emotions don’t define you. You may feel one thing, when the opposite is true.

The world will say they affirm your feelings and that whatever you feel is true and right, but they are lying to you. You may feel the sky is green, but that feeling is not grounded in reality or truth. If society wanted what was best for you, they would give you the hard truth and challenge you to work past or through your feelings.

We can choose to follow our emotions, which change all the time, or we can seek God where we’re at and know He never changes, surrendering those feelings at His feet and trusting Him.

Not all emotions are bad, but they will always fluctuate. Our hearts are deceitful.

We can be joyful in spite of our circumstances and have peace that surpasses all understanding. God gives us this joy and peace that only come from Him. He is our anchor in the midst of life’s storms.

When we place our faith, identity, and hope in God, we are secure. We know He is good and His ways are right. He gives us purpose.

Final thoughts

This is my hope for you today: to find your salvation in Christ, and to live purpose-filled and faithfully because of (and for) Him.

Living this way means we’ll have to let go of our pride and need to control every outcome, and to then pick up our cross. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely worth it.

If you want to read more about this topic of purpose, I highly recommend You’re Not Enough (and That’s Ok): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love by Allie Beth Stuckey. I also recommend listening to this sermon from R.C. Sproul on purpose and being made in the image of God.

If you would like other recommendations on faith-based books, podcasts, music, and more, check out my Pinterest board made just for these things!

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and are motivated to go out and live your God-given purpose. This topic has been on my heart to write about since I listened to the R.C. Sproul sermon I linked above. It has so much to do with photography and my heart behind this business—not only in my life and how I want to be intentional in my business (and better live out what God has called me to), but also for my clients in front of the camera and those that support me.

I don’t say any of these things out of pride or to feel better than others. I still struggle and fall short as well. But praise God that He has saved me and continues to work in me!

Be sure to check out some of the blogs below to learn more about my heart behind the camera.