God’s Purpose

Paul, that take-charge guy who wrote a bunch of the New Testament, said this about Jesus, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Specifically, you are God’s mission and purpose. He came to set you free so you could really live!

Before Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead, humankind was under the domain of Satan. Now, Christ has rescued us. When you give Him your life and choose to follow Him instead of going your own way, He begins to set matters straight in your life. That is God’s purpose—to put back together what Satan broke in your life.

On a trip to Jericho, Jesus told everyone why He came to earth, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus came to set our lives straight. As He traveled during His earthly ministry, Jesus was always looking to love and forgive people, to deliver them from demonic oppression, to heal them, to make them laugh, to give them hope, and to bring justice and equality to the forgotten and oppressed.

While attending the synagogue in Nazareth, His hometown, Jesus read from an Old Testament scroll that foretold His mission this way: God’s Son was to heal the brokenhearted and to set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1). John 3:17 says that God sent Jesus into the world not to condemn it, but to save it. That is the opposite of everything Satan brings to the world. Satan enslaves, but Jesus saves! John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

From these verses we gather a clear picture of God’s purpose for sending His Son. Jesus came:

  To seek and save what was lost

  To heal the brokenhearted

  To set captives free

  To save the world

  To give full life

To sum it up, Jesus came to set things right. He started this mission, but now He intends for you to continue it. You are His ally to let people see Christ’s love radiate from your life, to help them discover a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, to help those who feel hopeless and forgotten by loving and helping them get back on their feet, and to help them find the full and exhilarating life Jesus promises.

The Great Commission is “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creationȁD (Mark 16:15). Your commission may very well include preaching or teaching, but there are many ways to share the gospel with others. You must use both words and actions to declare the message of Jesus.

Hal Donaldson started Convoy of Hope to reduce human suffering across America and around the world, and to help people find Jesus. His organization is able to respond quickly when natural disasters upset people’s lives and to bring them hope. By providing food, medical care, and disaster relief, they are able to reach people for Jesus who would otherwise be lost. Convoy of Hope puts faith into action.

Donaldson is continuing Jesus’ mission and so must you. You won’t be able to set everything straight by yourself, but one day God will finish the mission that Jesus started and we continued. Sin and sickness and hurts will be no more!

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ ”

—Revelation 21:5

In the meantime, you are commissioned to continue Jesus’ work. You are expected to be His agent and serve others with all the strength that God gives you through the power of His Holy Spirit.

In My Experience:

Would you rather be treated by a doctor who has never been sick or by one who has experienced sickness or an accident at least once? If you’re like me, you prefer the latter because that doctor is probably going to be more gentle and caring.

The Bible tells us Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because He suffered and was tempted in every way just like we are, and yet He never sinned (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15). Jesus is moved by our human condition because He experienced it himself. In our own lives it often takes personal hardship to better understand what others are going through.

Growing up, I experienced several traumatic accidents. Once, when I was about eleven years old, I fell into a very large cactus while hiking in Bolivia. There were no trails in the area I was exploring, and the steep, one hundred foot climb from the valley floor was treacherous. As I neared the top, the dry clay-like dirt failed to provide the grip my feet needed and I began to slide and lose my balance. I feared falling backward and rolling to the bottom. So I quickly turned, fell on my rear to slow myself, and hoped to find some brush to grab.

What I saw immediately before me was not good. I was falling into a large cactus at least twice my size and there was no way to stop it. I put my right hand out to shield my face. In an instant I hit the plant and it completely broke my fall. My right hand and arm were covered with hundreds of thorns. My head, shoulders, chest, and legs were all reeling in pain. I cried for help, but there was no one. The plant I had fallen into was much larger than me and I still had to get out of it.

The pain was overwhelming and more than once I nearly passed out. Finally I freed myself and laid in the dirt moaning and crying. I slowly began to pull thorns from my body. Discouragement was overtaking me. I still had to safely make my way back into the valley I had climbed from and walk nearly two miles home.

Fortunately, the boots I wore protected my feet. When I got home my mom carefully helped me out of my clothes, put me in a hot salt bath, and gently removed the remaining thorns.

It appeared we had gotten them all. But little did we know two thorns in my right wrist had broken off well under the surface of the skin. At first I assumed my wrist was sore from the fall itself. But the pain grew and an infection set in. An X-ray revealed there was a small thorn about an eighth of an inch long and another about three-fourths of an inch long lodged in the joint of my wrist. My parents arranged for immediate surgery, and the thorns were removed. But it took weeks for the infection and the incision to heal.

From this experience I learned empathy, that is, caring about and feeling the pain of others. Before that I wouldn’t have even pretended to be concerned for you if you were sick, much less feel authentic compassion. The battles you and I face help us relate better with hurting people.

Jesus put himself in our world so He could experience all of our human emotions and weaknesses. But it wasn’t enough for Him to feel it. He had the power to reverse the pain, and He set things in motion to restore us to our original relationship with Him. What Jesus started will be fully accomplished when we are in heaven.

In the meantime He wants you to discover the things that make you come alive and use them to further His purposes. His mission is to set things right. What makes you come alive can deliver Jesus’ life to those He cares about.

Jesus’ mission is to fix what the devil has broken in people’s lives. I think of human trafficking, of young girls who are forced into prostitution. They are being exploited! Jesus wants to free them. He specializes in seeking out those who have been robbed of their innocence and healing their physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. He accomplishes His task through men like you and me who will share their strength with those who are weak and disadvantaged.

It starts by knowing and caring about Jesus’ mission—the mission to seek and to save what has been lost and stolen in people’s lives. Then you offer Him what makes you come alive so He can use it to heal those around you. His purpose is your task—to let the whole world know Jesus can set things right in their life if they will invite Him to do so.