The Other 3 P's

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV).

Passion, purpose, and potential. Considered individually, passion is what a person loves, while purpose is what a person can offer the world around them. When passion and purpose collide, especially in a Biblical sense, it opens up a world of potential ways for us to have profound impact in our families, work places, communities, and even the world.

When I joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes it helped me determine my passions pretty quickly: Jesus, kids, and sports. Take a moment to think about what you’re passionate about, and write them down. Whatever you come up with, I think it may reveal a bit about what God has put in or on your heart to pursue.

When we examine purpose, I think there are many factors to consider: our skill set, our vocation, and what the world around us needs. When we consider those things in light of what we love, that will often lead to purpose. But today, I want to propose that we consider that in reverse order. Instead of looking to those factors to help determine our purpose, let’s look to the Word of God first. 

There are lots of commands in the Bible: There shall be no other Gods before me. Forgive one another. Be fruitful and multiply. While all are important, when we’re specifically considering purpose, I think we must look to Matthew 28:18-20:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

Put simply, our Biblical purpose in this life is to GO. On the authority of Jesus, He commands us to use our passions to guide us into our purpose of fulfilling the command of Jesus 2000 years ago. Be disciples who make disciples.

I want to challenge you this week to spend some time reading the Gospels. These accounts, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John highlight the ministry life of Jesus. He taught, He healed, and He carried out his purpose: to fulfill the will of His father through suffering, death on a cross, burial, and resurrection. 

Because He carried out His purpose, we have the opportunity to do the same. When we consider our passions, and combine that with the purpose of making Jesus known, there is potential to change our families, our workplaces, our communities, and our world.