What is God's purpose for your life? | Religion

When his parents saw him, they were amazed; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have looked in great anxiety. He said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house? But they did not understand what he was saying to them

Luke 2: 48-50

One of the biggest challenges we all face is identifying and d & # 39; affirm purpose for our lives.

For some, we know God's purpose for our lives as soon as we are born of our mother's womb. For others, we only learn God's purpose for our lives as we mature, experience life, and allow ourselves to be discovered on the path of life.

Every decision we make is crucial. are based on whether it is right or if it is wrong.

The consequences of a bad decision often end with negative results. Similarly, the consequences of a good decision often lead to positive results.

When we read this text in Luke 2: 41-50 on the maturation of Jesus, there is no bad or good or just or bad decision

. If Jesus had decided to follow his mother, his father, and the travelers to the city of Nazareth in Galilee, Jesus would have made the right decision. Because according to Jewish law, a child should obey his parents.

Thus, if Jesus had returned with his family to Galilee, he would have made the right decision.

But since Jesus did not make a decision and decided to stay in Jerusalem, the question that many of us will ask is: did Jesus make the right decision? Or did Jesus make the wrong decision?

It is difficult for us to determine whether Jesus was wrong not to leave with his parents or whether Jesus was right to stay in the Temple of Jerusalem

. Difficult decisions are not those between good and bad, but those that call us to choose between options when both represent valid claims. "

So the question for Jesus in this text is not what is better or worse, the question is, what option would it help to fulfill God's purpose for his life?" [19659002] We all had to make important decisions in our lives.

When I decided to leave my home state of Texas to go to Morehouse College in Atlanta., I made the decision to discover the God's purpose for my life

Although my family gave me what I needed for life, the bottom line was that they could not live my life. What I did with what they gave me depended on me

If I rejected the values ​​that they had taught me, it was up to me me to do it.

If I did not practice the faith that they had given me, it was over

If I did not study to show myself approved to God, it depended on me.

All this that I have done and everything I do in my life has nothing to do with my mother or my grandparents. do with my life from this day forward is mine.

And it is there that Jesus is in the scriptures. Jesus came to the conclusion that he must seek God's purpose for his life.

In a sense, Jesus identifies and affirms God's purpose for his life.

According to Jewish custom, a male child becomes a man and embraces the traditions of his ancestors at the age of 13 years.

Although Jesus did not reach the age of manhood, Jesus knew that he was about to complete his rites of pbadage.

In a few months, Jesus would no longer be a little boy, but Jesus would become an adult: a person who is ready to accept his own responsibilities.

So, when we read in verse 43 that "the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem," what we are witnessing is not a young man who disobeys his parents, but rather a young man who understands the Jewish custom and understands that he reaches the age where he must accept responsibility.

In short, what Jesus said to his parents and to us is: "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I should be like a child, I reasoned like a child, but when I am as an adult, I put an end to childlike ways "(1 Corinthians 14:11).

When we think about Jesus, what decisions should you make for your own life? What options do you have that you need to consider?

What's stopping you from achieving your goal for life?

Beloved, God has a plan for your life. It is time for you to walk in your goal and live your best life for God!

Kevin R. Johnson is a frequent columnist and senior pastor of Dare to Imagine Church, 6611 Ardleigh Street, Philadelphia, Pa.