One Singular Purpose

There was a time in my life when I was certain that there was one thing I was supposed to do with my life. And it was my job to discover what that one thing was. My high school career assessment revealed that because I liked to be outside, I should be a bricklayer. And while it was true, I liked to be outside, becoming a bricklayer didn’t seem like that one thing I was searching for.

I Delight in You by Lisle Gwynn Garrity, A Sanctified Art

As a college student, I learned the language of vocation, which Frederick Buechner defines as “The place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.” The story I heard over and over was of one graduate who had gone on to work with Jars of Clay to bring clean water to villages in Africa. She had found her vocation, that singular thing that would be her life’s work.

In those years, and beyond, I had a variety of jobs - babysitter, afterschool care leader, camp counselor, program director, intern, customer service provider, intramural coordinator - to name a few. I loved elements of each of those jobs, but none of them seemed to be that one thing I was supposed to do with my life.

So, at this point, you’re probably expecting the story of how I eventually figured out that my life’s work was to be a pastor. And I will say, I am deeply grateful that I have a job that is not just fulfilling but is what I believe God has called me to do.

But I have also come to believe that purpose is about far more than our jobs. Purpose is about far more than one singular thing we are supposed to do.

Martin Luther, the man credited with the beginning the Protestant Reformation, spoke of our common vocation to love God and neighbor. The Westminster Catechism answers the question, “What is the chief end of humankind?” with the words “To glorify God and enjoy God forever.”

Barbara Brown Taylor recalls her own story of figuring out her life purpose. She writes, “One night when my whole heart was open to hearing from God what I was supposed to do with my life, God said, ‘Anything that pleases you.’ ‘What?’ I said resorting to words again. ‘What kind of answer is that?’ ‘Do anything that pleases you,’ the voice in my head said again, ‘and belong to me.’”

Do anything that pleases you and belong to me.

Here’s the thing, we can belong to God, and we can glorify God while doing anything. We can belong to God, and we can glorify God with whatever job title we might have. In fact, we can belong to God, and we can glorify God while we are doing the most tedious, repetitive tasks that are required in life, even housework.

What if the one thing we are supposed to do has nothing to do with our job, but everything to do with our identity as children of God? What if our one singular purpose was to belong to God?

Grace and peace,

Kimmy