Do Not Reject God's Purpose for You

Note from today’s Bible reading: Luke 7

When two of John’s disciples were sent to Jesus to inquire if He was the “Expected One” (Luke 7:19-20), Jesus told them to report to John what could be seen and heard in Jesus’ life: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Luke 7:22).

Because Jesus was doing these great things and helping so many people, many were learning about Him. However, not everyone was pleased with Him. The Pharisees, who were among the religious elites, rejected Jesus (for the most part), just as they had rejected John the Baptist.

Jesus explained what they were actually doing by rejecting the message of John: “But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John” (Luke 7:30). By not responding to the message being delivered by God’s prophet, they were rejecting God’s plan for them.

Many people today wonder about their purpose in life. Some assume that God has some unique purpose for them individually. However, what we know from the Scriptures is that God has a purpose for all of us. Our purpose is to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). We have been created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). The Lord wants us to observe all that He commanded (Matthew 28:20). These are the things we need to focus on.

So do not reject God’s purpose for you. Let us not speculate on what we cannot know and ignore what we do know. Instead, let us focus on following God’s word.