Our True Purpose
Our True Purpose. Our primary goal as a Christian is to advance the church of God. Wherever God has placed you; wherever your abilities and interests lie; God has put you right there to be a shining light for Christ.
23 But Jesus answered them,
saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the
ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much
grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life
in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let
him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone
serves Me, him My Father will honor.
27
“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from
this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify
Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both
glorified it and will glorify it again.”
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30
Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but
for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of
this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what
death He would die.
John 12:23-33, NKJV
Our True Purpose
Jesus was born in secrecy, but His life as an adult was lived openly before the people; He often spoke of His true mission. In the passage above, Jesus is speaking with His disciples as well as others who had gathered around to hear Him. Look at the picture He drew for them in verse 24; a grain of wheat is only multiplied if it first dies. Already He is predicting His coming death for His people; only through His death will His church grow and live!
In verses 27 and 28 we have a rare conversation between God and Jesus: “Now
My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this
hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your
name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it
and will glorify it again.”
As
a man, Jesus' suffering was real; as any man, He was troubled by the
death He would die. Yet, the Mission of Christ was always foremost in
His mind. Though He could have asked God to save His from the hour of
His suffering, this was the very reason He came to this earth; this was
the way to bring glory to the name of the Father. As in other Scriptures
where God speaks, the people around Christ could only hear thunder;
some thought an angel spoke to Him. Did God need to speak aloud in order
for Christ to hear Him?
No! Jesus said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake."
What
do we learn from this today? Our primary goal as a Christian is to
advance the church of God; I'm not talking about specific denominations.
God has one true church which consists of all true believers. Wherever
God has placed us; wherever our abilities and interests lie; God has
put us right there to be a shining light for Christ. That is your chief
priority! This is our true purpose!
For This Purpose I Came!
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