Discovering the Pathway to Life Purpose
“The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless,’” (Eccles: 2:1,12:8).
Do you recognize these verses from Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes? Solomon’s dad was the great King David of Goliath fame and Bathsheba shame . . . but David was also a monumental model of life change. I can imagine David rolling over in his grave upon hearing his son’s proclamation! The Bible tells us King Solomon was the richest and wisest man on earth. Yet, Solomon struggled with the sobering realism of life on earth . . . and what can be understood this side of eternity.
But beyond what he wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 and 12 . . . Solomon ultimately concluded that fulfillment and resilient life purpose could not be found in things of this world. The wise king finally got to the right answer, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is everyone’s duty,” (12:13). But the world since Solomon’s time (about 950 BC) has wrestled with both biblical pronouncements! Is everything “utterly meaningless” . . . or is our ultimate life purpose “to glorify God” on the pathway of life? There’s a choice to make.
How is your life purpose positioned? God’s Word provides tangible answers to how we should approach the pathway of life on planet Earth. One of my favorites is captured in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship [nothing short of his divine artwork] . . . created in Christ Jesus [whose image we carry] . . . to do good works [pursuits and work that honor him] . . . which God prepared in advance [his sovereign plan pre-existed us] . . . so that we may walk in them [we must discover the distinctive works and the pathway to accomplish what we were made for!].”
Here’s another way to think about Ephesians 2:10. We are created to point to our Maker-Artist while discovering our unique pathway to glorify him. Prayer, contemplation, discernment and intentional efforts are essential. Romans 12:2 mandates a renewal of our minds, not stagnation! That, in itself, gives our life spark and significance . . . always enabled by God’s grace and power. Our engine should be running on high octane spiritual gasoline; we’re not fueled by vegetable oil.
Metamorphyx: Embracing Life Experience, Life Change, and Life Purpose is a true-life narrative about the life purpose discovery process. The book takes the reader on The Metamorphyx Journey—the crazy ups and downs, blunders, disappointments, great victories, and catastrophes that one encounters on the pathway of life.
Some Metamorphyx readers have asked, “Can you give me a high-level thinking model for The Metamorphyx Journey . . . some kind of an overview that highlights the process, pathway, and the biblical principles that govern the journey?” Here’s how I answer that question.
Over the next several weeks, I invite you to tune-in to this life purpose blog series as I explain the critical elements of The Metamorphyx Journey. To do that, I’ll “deconstruct” the graphic above, one section at a time, to reveal its biblical foundation and human heartbeat. My aim is to make the schematic come alive in a way that engages you . . . so that you can more effectively engage with the God of the Universe who directs your pathway.
Here are four high-level ideas to begin that process. Print the schematic if you wish and then use the BOLD headings below to help you navigate the diagram.
1. Avoid making The Metamorphyx Journey a calculated set of steps that must be experienced (or executed) in sequential order. View the schematic as guideposts that challenge and direct your thinking.
2. Recognize that the journey from Life Experience to Life Change to Life Purpose—ultimately Living for God’s Glory—is a highly dynamic process that involves significant Life Purpose Contemplation. That’s our topic for Part II in this series. God’s Call and resilient Life Purpose is much more than one leap-frog jump.
3. Understand that when you commit to The Metamorphyx Journey, your pathway to Life Purpose fulfillment will always be governed by God’s refining process. Those are usually life altering circumstances that he uses to chisel and shape you for his purposes. Never discount the truth and reality that God ordains ALL your circumstances on the pathway of life, makes you think through changes of direction you must consider (Pivot Points), and guides you via the Holy Spirit (“Speak Lord!”) onto pathways you might never have imagined you would travel. Take heart! God’s Spirit empowers Life Change.
4. Finally, don’t miss the large blue–black arrows surrounding the border of the graphic. These remind us that life change is an ongoing, iterative process. That means, you will undoubtedly visit key points within the model more than once over your lifetime. The Metamorphyx Journey represents God’s ongoing sovereign work in our lives—never a one-and-done shot on goal.
To summarize, fulfilling and resilient Life Purpose is governed by God-ordained processes, events, and circumstances that illuminate stepping-stones on our personal pathway of Living for God’s Glory.
In Part II of this series, we’ll explore the biblical mandate for Life Change . . . and why the Metamorphyx Journey is wrapped around becoming a life learner!
Got questions? Post your comments or email me at tom.schuler@metamorphyx.com.
On the pathway . . . and in the process!
Tom
“My sheep listen to my voice: I know them, and they follow me,” (John 10:27)
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