What on Earth Am I Here For? Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

Author:Rick Warren [Warren, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Christian Life, Spiritual Growth
ISBN: 0310264839
Google: nMyYngEACAAJ
Amazon: B004VSIJIW
Barnesnoble: B004VSIJIW
Goodreads: 11546145
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2002-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

What has been your life metaphor up to this point? How have you described life?

Can you think of a past experience where you can now see that God was testing you?

If you were to start living the truth that everything you “own” is really on loan from God, how would that change the way you feel about your possessions?

If you’d like to explore these questions, visit www.purposedrivenlife.com.

Life Is a Temporary Assignment

Life on earth is a temporary assignment.

The Bible is full of metaphors that teach the brief, temporary, transient nature of life on earth. Life is described as a mist, a fast runner, a breath, and a wisp of smoke. The Bible says, “For we were born but yesterday …. Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow.”59

To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won’t be here long, so don’t get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. David prayed, “Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more.”60

Repeatedly God’s Word compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. This is not your permanent home or final destination. You’re just passing through, just visiting earth. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe our brief stay on earth. David said, “I am but a foreigner here on earth,”61 and St. Peter explained, “If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth.”62

In California, where I live, many people have moved from other parts of the world to work here, but they keep their citizenship with their home country. They are required to carry a visitor registration card (called a “green card”), which allows them to work here even though they aren’t citizens. Actually, we all should carry spiritual green cards to remind us that our citizenship is in heaven. God says that his children are to think differently about life from the way unbelievers do. “All they think about is this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.”63 Real believers realize that there will be far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet.

Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven. Once you fully grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about “having it all” on earth. God is very blunt about the danger of living for here and now and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us. When we flirt with the temptations of our culture, God calls it spiritual adultery. The Bible says, “You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way.

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