Do you know your purpose as a Christian? Some of us do and some of us don’t, but regardless, we have commonalities. Read on for two purposes every Christian has in common.

There’s nothing like talk about purpose to strike a little dread in the heart—whether you’ve found yours or not.

Those who haven’t found their purpose struggle with finding theirs, with whether God has told them already and they missed it, or if they even have a purpose.

And those who have found their purpose struggle with fears of being able to fulfill it, wanting to hide from the magnitude of it, losing sight, or feeling like theirs just isn’t good enough.

Identifying Your Purpose

I think purpose is where talent meets spiritual gifts.

Take my pastor for example. Obviously, his spiritual gifts would be leadership, ministering, and exhortation as a pastor, but his talent (among others) is an outgoing personality that attracts people like kids to a candy bowl. Put those together and you get a deadly combination—or a heavenly one I should say.

Now it can take a little while to put these together because God doesn’t usually give us the big picture at first, but here are some steps to get started.

#1 – WHAT ARE YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS?

First, let’s establish the difference between a spiritual gift and a talent.

Talents are those natural aptitudes we’re born with—like athleticism, writing, singing, and memorization.

And we receive spiritual gifts when we accept Jesus as our Savior that help us to be the body of Christ—like exhortation, teaching, and service. More like a role that God develops in us as we grow in Him.

Knowing your spiritual strengths and weaknesses is a big step in finding your purpose and being even more effective for Christ.

And did you know there are tests to help you figure that out? Pretty cool, huh? Here’s a free test you can take at SpiritualGiftsTest.com (no affiliate link).

#2 – WHAT ARE YOUR TALENTS?

I’m guessing you already have a pretty good idea of what you’re good at (and enjoy as a result), but jot those things down and think about them with a mindset of how you might use them for God’s glory.

#3 – TALK TO GOD.

Very important step. Talk to Him. Ask Him what He wants you to do. Pay attention to what jumps out at you as you do the above steps.

#4 – REVISIT.

Keep your results (from steps 1 & 2) in mind as you do life and keep talking to God. God will bring something to your attention when the time is right.

Did You Know That You And I Have Common Purposes?

Whether you’re a missionary, or a writer like me, or you don’t have a clue what your purpose is, we share something in common—maybe I should say two somethings:

#1 – LOVE GOD.

As humans with innate sin natures, it’s easy to overlook the most basic principles sometimes. We think God wants us to do something. He must, right? We’re called to live out our walk, so surely we need to be doing in order to please Him.

True—in the sense that we’re called to go out and obey. But first, and even more important, comes a relationship with God, which is the center of the gospel.

God created man because He wanted relationship with us, and then Jesus left heaven and died to restore our relationship with Him. Wow. That’s huge. And simple.

If you’re reading this and thinking I’ve lost my mind, remember the answer Jesus gave to the question, What’s the greatest commandment?

#2 – LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.

If relationship is most important to God, it makes sense he’d be concerned with our relationship with each other. He cares for each of us and wants us to reflect that same love to others.

Period.

I don’t know about you, but I find it comforting to know that we have purposes in common. Whether you’re a preacher, a missionary, a stay-at-home mom, or you don’t know what your mission is yet. We’re called to love God with all we have within us so that we can’t help but love everyone around us.

And if you’re doing that, then you are working in your purpose.

NOW I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR PURPOSE YET? AND WHETHER YOU HAVE OR HAVEN’T, HOW HAS WORKING WITHIN THESE CORE PURPOSES HELPED YOU?

*** This post was revised from the archives. Check out the original here. ***

MORE RESOURCES

• Bad Habits Every Christian Should Break Now from HISsparrowBlog
• 4 Lesser-Known Women of the Bible {and What They Can Teach Us Today} from HISsparrowBlog
• Life in the Box: Understanding Identity from HISsparrowBlog

I frequently link up with the following: Grace & Truth with Embracing the Unexpected, Tell His Story with Jeanne Takenaka, and Let’s Have Coffee with Joanne Viola.