Living for a Purpose
We live for a purpose, which is to fulfill the special end God has willed to be accomplished by us, leading to happiness and true fulfillment.
Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about God's eternal plan for us, emphasizing that we were chosen by Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His love. She highlights the importance of living not for ourselves, but for God's purpose, which He uniquely designed for each of us to fulfill. By devoting ourselves to God and aligning our lives with His will, we experience true happiness and fulfillment, as we reflect the image of the Divine Mind in our earthly existence.
Text
He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
EPHESIANS 1:4
O LOVE, who formedst me to wear
The image of Thy Godhead here;
Who soughtest me with tender care
Through all my wanderings wild and drear;
O Love! I give myself to Thee,
Thine ever, only Thine to be.
JOHANN SCHEFFLER
WE live not for ourselves, but for God; for some purpose of His; for some special end to be accomplished, which He has willed to be accomplished by oneself, and not by another; something which will be left undone, if we do it not, or not be done as it would have been done, if the one ordained to it had done it. We live gifted with certain forms of spiritual grace embodied in us, for some purpose of Divine Love to be fulfiled by us, some idea of the Divine Mind to be imaged forth in our creaturely state. To devote oneself to God is to concentrate the powers of one's being to their ordained end, and therefore to have the happiest and truest life--happiest, because happiness must be in the accordance of these powers with the law of their creation, and truest, because the attainment of the highest glory must be in the accomplishment of the end for which we were created.
T. T. CARTER
Sermon Outline
- Living for a Purpose
- The importance of devotion to God
- The significance of living for God's purpose
- Accomplishing the end for which we were created
- Imaging forth the Divine Mind in our lives
Key Quotes
“O Love! I give myself to Thee, Thine ever, only Thine to be.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“We live not for ourselves, but for God; for some purpose of His; for some special end to be accomplished, which He has willed to be accomplished by oneself, and not by another;” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We must concentrate our powers for the ordained end to achieve happiness and true fulfillment.
- Living for God's purpose allows us to accomplish the end for which we were created.
- Devotion to God is essential for imaging forth the Divine Mind in our lives.