Born with purpose …

Do you know what your purpose for living is?

If not, your life is likely miserable … or headed in that direction!

Without purpose, you’ll mislead yourself, even when you think you’re headed in the right direction. That reminds me of a story reported by Campus Life …

“In November, 1975, 75 convicts started digging a secret tunnel designed to bring them up at the other side of the wall of Saltillo Prison in northern Mexico. On April 18, 1976, guided by pure genius, they tunneled up into the nearby courtroom in which many of them had been sentenced. The surprised judges returned all 75 to jail.”

Purpose is important!

Even for Jesus.

Fortunately for us, Jesus came into this world loaded with purpose! We see that as early as the age of 12, He understood the will of God was His purpose that, even then, He must be tending to …

“His parents didn’t know what to think. ‘Son,’ his mother said to him, ‘why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.’ ‘But why did you need to search?’ he asked. ‘Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?'” Luke 2:48-29.

We celebrate Christmas as the day Jesus was born, but we can celebrate that He was born with purpose! Let’s take a minute to examine the purpose for Jesus being born into the world He created. Following are 20 different scriptures that speak directly to the purposes for which Jesus was born. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it shows us that Jesus had a clearly defined purpose for His life on Earth. These scriptures reveal His purpose for being born was:

To save His people from their sins – “As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins,” Matthew 1:20-21.

To accomplish God’s will – “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will,” John 6:38.

To save sinners – “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ — and I am the worst of them all,” 1 Timothy 1:15.

To testify to the truth – “Pilate said, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus responded, ‘You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true,” John 18:37.

To destroy the works of the devil – “But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil,” 1 John 3:8.

To serve – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others …” Mark 10:45a.

As a ransom – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many,” Mark 10:45.

To accomplish the purpose of the law and prophets – “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose,” Matthew 5:17.

To provide salvation and eternal life – “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life,” John 3:16.

To call sinners to repentance – “When Jesus heard this, he told them, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor — sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners,” Mark 2:17.

To die – “Jesus replied, ‘Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels — a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, “Father, save me from this hour”? But this is the very reason I came!'” John 12:23-27.

To seek and save the lost – “Jesus responded, ‘Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost,” Luke 19:9-10.

To reconcile us to God – “And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them,” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19.

To be a sword of division – “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household!’ If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine,” Matthew 10:34-37.

To usher in the kingdom of God – “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” Isaiah 9:6-7.

To preach the kingdom of God – “But Jesus replied, ‘We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came,'” Mark 1:38.

For judgment – “Then Jesus told him, ‘I entered this world to render judgment — to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind,'” John 9:39.

So that we may have life – “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life,” John 10:10.

To become our high priest and be the propitiation for our sins – “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people,” Hebrews 2:16-17 (NASB).

To take away our sins – “And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him,” 1 John 3:5.

When you think of Christmas, think of the purpose for the birth of Jesus … and you’ll have reason to celebrate!

Our purpose for living has as much purpose as the life of Jesus, but a different purpose. Ours is to worship, glorify, and enjoy God. Jesus was faithful to His purpose for living, are you faithful to yours?

Scotty