"When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place: and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. But He said to them, 'I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.'"
~Luke 4:42-43 {NASB}
In Luke 4 Jesus sets an example for us of living a life of purpose. The chapter begins with Him preparing for His purpose by spending time alone with the Holy Spirit in the desert during a 40 day fast in which He employs the holy wisdom found in Scripture to battle temptation. In the rest of the chapter He begins His public ministry by preaching the Good News. This includes a trip back to His hometown during which He has some stern words for those who doubt Him because He is a local boy and during which He escapes an attempted murder. He knew He would not be accepted in His hometown {Luke 4:24} and yet He preached there anyway according to His purpose. Though the people try to literally push Him off a cliff, He escapes unharmed because that was the will of God {Luke 4:30}. He continues His ministry by bringing the Good News to Capernaum and performing many miracles showing His authority over nature and over demons. He stays up all night healing people and when He tries to move on the next day and the people want Him to stay, He sticks to His purpose, moving on to bring the Good News to other cities. In this chapter we see an example of a man who has a clear sense of purpose and sticks to it despite threats on His life and the demands of people. Whether He is hated or adored, He sticks to the purpose for which He was sent.
I so desperately want to live a life of purpose. A life that matters because I am pursuing the purpose for which I was made. I learned a few things by studying Jesus's life in this chapter that I think might help me out.
Prepare
Living a life of purpose requires preparation. Spending time with God in the Word and in prayer. How else will I even know what my specific purpose is? I know from the Word that every believer's purpose is to bring honor and glory to God, but how specifically am I supposed to do that this year, this week, today, this hour, this minute? I may not have time to go on a 40 day retreat like Jesus did, but I can make time to daily prepare myself by getting up a few minutes early or staying up a few minutes later to spend time with God.
Do Not Fear
Jesus must know the kind of reaction He will receive when He compares the people in his hometown to Israel during the time of Elijah and Elisha which was known to be one of the most wicked generations {Luke 4:24-27}. Yet, He did not fear their reaction because He knew He was acting within His purpose and in this particular case He walked away unscathed despite a murder attempt {Luke 4:29-30}. When God calls us and gives us a purpose to live out we must do it boldly like Jesus, not fearing the reaction of other humans. It may not always work out well for us, like it did for Jesus in this particular instance, but ultimately, whom should we fear? God or man? I would rather live a significant life and endure some difficulty with others than miss out on being a part of God's plan because I am afraid of what the earthly consequences may be.
Stay Focused
The people in Capernaum love Jesus! He heals the sick and casts out demons, what's not to love? He tirelessly serves them even staying up all night, but when the morning comes and it is time to move on, He puts His foot down and leaves. I don't know about you, but if I were Him, I think I'd be tempted to stay in a place where people love me and where I feel effective and see results. Like Jesus, I have to remember to stick to my purpose. Even when I am comfortable and effective where I am I still need to constantly ask, "Is this what you want me to be doing today God? or do you have something else?" What a good reminder that our effectiveness is not the measure of how well we are sticking to our God-given purpose as counter-intuitive as that seems to our worldly minds!
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