DISCOVER YOUR DESTINY
christ
Painted by the late Deacon Ned Ostendorf
To see Christ face to face is the destiny of all who believe in Him.
John 6:39-40
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
Knowing your Ideals leads to discovering your purpose in life and your destiny.
The following may help you learn more about yourself
Our Ideals are synonymous with who we are
I was once asked to write a talk on Ideals. Not understanding the term ideals or the importance of them on me or anyone else, I did not know where to start. I knew I needed the Lord’s help, so I prayed to Him for understanding. He answered the prayer that same day at aerobics.
The Holy Spirit Lives Within
At aerobics our instructor always ended the class with a meditation. That day there was a long pause as she was thumbing through her book looking for the poem she had chosen. Finally she announced,
Ideals, by Carl Shurtz.
Ideals are like stars, you cannot reach out and touch them with your hands but like seafaring man by following them you will reach your destiny.
I waited until she was done talking to others in the class and then approached her, letting her know that I had planned on writing a talk on ideals later that morning. She said, “This is not what I was going to read, but I couldn’t find my bookmark. The page on ideals kept coming open, so I read it.” Each time the Holy Spirit reveals His presence in our lives like this, it reinforces the fact that God is with us.
What is your Ideal?
To begin with, your ideals are in your mind. They are a combination of the thoughts, preferences and desires that influence your vision of perfection in a particular area of your life. They determine who you are and who you will become because they dictate your will and drive you to action. Today you are beginning the process of discovering your ideals and who you are.
Here are some areas in your life that you might be focused on: family, friends, career, faith, activities or any area you to which you might be drawn.
To help you uncover your interests, think of the many abilities you have received from God. Write them down. They might include things like: creativity, a green thumb, a mathematical mind, a desire to help others, leadership, a desire to teach, musical ability, an inquisitive mind, or making people laugh. Also think of other gifts which might include: communication skills, motivational skills, being insightful, being compassionate, dependability and more.
Now is the time to do an assessment of where you are in life. How do you picture yourself? Are you using all of the gifts you’ve been given? Are you living the life to which you have been called? What is your conception of being the best you can be? Is there one thing in your life that takes precedence over all of the other interests? If so, you will discover it in contemplating the following questions.
What do I think about most often?
What do I spend my discretionary income on?
What do I wish I had more time to do for myself?
How do I spend my free time with others?
What brings joy to my heart?
The WHY in each answer is where your main Ideal is hidden?
Our Purpose in Life
Once you know what your ideals are, you need to ponder a second question.
What is the meaning of my life?
Internalizing the above question opens the door to the soul, and allows the Holy Spirit to start giving us a portion of His seven gifts of: Understanding, Wisdom, Council (your conscience), Knowledge, Fear of the Lord (awe of God), Piety (reverence to God) and Fortitude (strength endurance).
Whenever you ask what your purpose is in life, you are temporarily taken out of worldly thoughts. You allow God’s grace to penetrate your heart and mind. This self reflection is necessary to lead you into a deeper relationship with Christ. If seeking a relationship with Christ was not your main ideal, contemplating your purpose in life may lead you there. What is the alternative?
Ecclesiastes 2:18-26
Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity. There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is vanity and striving after wind.
Think about who you are. You are a child of God with both a human and spiritual nature.
At birth you were given a pure heart and soul in which God resides. We as humans look at the heart in two different ways. One, it is the source of human life and two, it is the center our feelings and our soul, God within us. He gives to us the unconditional love that leads us to life with Him. The human heart is what keeps us alive on earth and our soul is what leaves the body and goes to our eternal destiny. In short, our human heart temporarily coexists with our soul. At times we may question if this is true. My belief comes from God’s involvement with my life. If you have not seen His involvement in your life, you may have called it a coincidence. However, He is involved in everyone’s life. God reveals Himself, His power and His love to all of us, but only those who believe in Him see it. If you want to see how He does that, go to the True Stories tab and the New Life tab. You may say these are farfetched and off the wall, but I can tell you they reaffirm my faith that God is alive here and now.
Ideals are difficult to realize because of many outside factors over which we do not have control, some of which might be jobs, pace of living, imposed requirements and people close to us who have different agendas. We are able to attain the Christian ideal because the outside factor is Christ Himself, who is perfect and does not change. We, ourselves are the only variable that can keep us from attaining it.
Would our life be different if we had Christ as our main ideal? What would that look like?
Would we think about Christ or others differently and less about ourselves?
Would we share more of our money with those in need?
Would we wish to do more spiritual reading and interacting with God?
Would we spend more time helping others and being active in our church?
Would God’s presence, grace and love in our life make us worry less, and be more joyful?
Each of us is chosen to have a destiny with God. Christ wants us to have more focus on Him. As we spend more time with Him, we will want to be with Him all the more. If He is our main ideal, we will find joy, peace and love in all that we do. He does many favors for those who thirst for Him and make Him their first priority. His presence is revealed in our daily lives if we open our eyes.
If your destiny is heaven, your ideals should lead you there.
Matthew 7: 7-8
Ask and it shall be given to you, seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives: and who seeks, finds: and to anyone who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 6: 33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Matthew 22: 37
Jesus replied: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind.”
Virtues
Virtues are the essence of our character and character does indeed determine destiny. The more we recognize the potential impact that practicing virtues can have on our lives, the more our lives open up to new possibilities and to greater joy and fulfillment. How many of the listed virtues are a part of your character?
May the Lord continue to bless you.
Clarence Gilles