What on Earth Am I here for?
From my years of
extensive studies of the lives of men and women who have truly affected our
world and who have made landmark achievements, I discovered that the number one
common denominator that they all share is a strong sense of purpose. They were
all men and women who discovered the very reason for their existence. Some
discovered it early enough while others discovered it in later years, after
years of wandering through life. But anyhow, they all discovered their purpose.
This became for them, an obsession which they individually pursued, lived for
and in some cases died for.
No man has ever
risen into true greatness without first discovering his purpose. Someone once
said that there are two most important days in the life of a man. One is the
day he is born. The other is the day he discovers the reason for being born.
All true greatness has its roots in the soil of purpose discovery. The day you
discover the very reason you are born is the day you truly start to live. Thus, a question that is very necessary for
every young person who is aspiring for greatness to ask and diligently seek an
answer to is “WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE TO DO?”
GREAT MEN WHO WILL NEVER BE
Years
back, I read an interesting story of a man who died and on getting to heaven
met Saint Peter at the pearly gate. When he saw Peter, he became excited and
began to ask him several questions relating to events on earth. He asked Peter
who the greatest army general on earth was. And Peter replied by pointing to a
man standing a few meters away from them. The man turned around to see the man
Peter was referring to, and to his amazement discovered that the man was the
street sweeper in their neighborhood who had died a few years back.
With
astonishment written all over his face, he turned to Peter and blurted out,
“You've
got to be kidding me! That man was never in the army. I know him well. He was
just a street sweeper in my neighborhood.”
Then
Peter replied him with some sadness, “If he had joined the army, he would have
become the greatest army general of all time. But he didn't join the army, so
he never became what he was created to be.”
Now let's face it, I know that the story is
not real. I guess it was just a story that a father told to his kids at bed
time. But even with that, the story is a depiction of the sad reality about the
life that many people live. There are several millions of people who were
equipped with great potentials to affect their world but they never did. Great
generals died as mere street sweeper. This is a sad reality.
IT'S ALL ABOUT PURPOSE!
Youths of the
third world nations need to wake up, challenge themselves and discover their
place in the scheme of things. The tragedy is not that we die but that great
abilities die with us and in us daily.
It pierces my heart every time I
see the ways in which young people live. They can be seen everywhere in
different shapes, sizes and complexions in all manners of clothes and hair
styles. But from the way they live, the things they say and do, one thing that
is very obvious is that they lack understanding of the reasons for their
existence. And it is amazing that they also dream of becoming great someday when
they don't even know what true greatness is or how they can attain it.
Like their
elders, young people have mistaken greatness for buying exotic cars, building
extravagant houses and attending every social event in town. This misconception
of what greatness is has led them into all manners of dangerous and godless
acts such as robbery, internet fraud, rape, murder, political thugery
misappropriation of public funds. The end result is that the society they were
created to influence and make better is now worse off. What a twisted fate!
If true greatness cannot be
achieved without the discovery of purpose, what then is PURPOSE?
Purpose has been
defined as the reason for the existence of a thing. Myles Munroe, defined
purpose as the ultimate reason for the existence of a thing or a person. It is
also the pre-determined end of a thing or a person. Purpose is the reason for
the manufacturing of any product. No product was ever released into the market
without a clear cut definition of what the manufacturer intended it to achieve.
So much money, time, skills, risks and energy are invested into the process of production
not because the manufacturer is looking for fun or just to look busy. There is
a pre-determined idea of what he wants the products to achieve. Let’s take it
deeper.
No manufacturer
goes through the pains of production without first determining what and how the
product is meant to perform, that is, its purpose or destiny. Also, the
construction of a building does not start until the architect has finished the
pattern of the building in his mind and transferred the finished image unto a
paper which becomes the blueprint, by which the construction process is guided
and judged.
God,
the ultimate manufacturer, did not go into the making of man in such a
detailed, unique and grand style just so that He could be called a Creator.
There is so much more in God's mind than the title of a Creator. There are visions in God's mind that He wants
translated into the physical. There are ideas and plans He wants executed. So,
He created man and wired him in such a complex manner, different from all the
other creations, so that man could bring His mind to reality. I guess you're
still confused about this purpose thing. Let me make it clearer to you.
Every man was
created, whether already born or not yet born, to do a certain work which the
mind of God had conceived. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his (God) workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them.” There is an assignment that God specifically created us
for as individuals. There is a picture in the mind of God that He needs someone
to translate into the physical. That is the purpose for the creation of man.
In
his book Ideas Rule the World, Sam Adeyemi, explained that God, if He had
wanted to, could have created everything we see around us today; the cars,
airplanes, computer systems, the sky scrapers, televisions, telephone etc. All
these things were in His mind back then. He could have created them all at the
time of the first creation. But He didn't! What He did was to create man and
blew His breath into the nostrils of the man – thereby transferring His Spirit,
Mind and Abilities into him, so that he could become a co-creator with Him.
Isn't this an amazing revelation that, humanity shares in the creative ability
of God?
This may be a
bit hard for our finite mind to comprehend. Could you, please pause a moment,
close your eyes and imagine the world as it could have been back then in
Genesis chapter one and two. No telephones, television, cars, schools and all
the other amenities we now have. Now, bring your mind back to our present
world. Consider the cars in their different designs and abilities, the
magnificent buildings, the telephones, TV sets, aircrafts, the super computers
and several other wonderful inventions. Imagine how primitive, odd and
cumbersome the world would have been without all these things.
Now come to think of it; all of these
wonderful inventions we are talking about were not done by God directly but by
men, who discovered their destinies and purposes of existence.
- Great
researches and discoveries have been made.
- Billions
of songs have been composed.
- Innumerable
numbers of books have been written.
- Buildings
of unbelievable heights have been built.
- Millions
of great speeches and sermons have been written.
All by men!
Can
you imagine what our present world could have looked like if those men and
women had not discovered who they were and what they existed for? Consider what
would have happened to us today had they chosen to live without purpose, vision
and commitment to God’s purpose for their lives as we of today have chosen to
live. Then, consider what the world would look like tomorrow for the coming
generation if we fail to change the way we live today. Every man has a place in
God's agenda for the world. Every man has a slice of assignment in transforming
the world to what God had in mind. But it takes discovery of personal purpose
to fit in.
Greatness
begins with the discovery of personal purpose. Dr. Myles Munroe said, “Your
value (self-worth) as a man is found in the revelation of your personal
purpose.” This is a truth that everyone who has ever risen unto greatness
discovered. They knew they were on earth as part of God's great plan. They knew
they were here on earth for something bigger than mere existence and they
vigorously pursued the discovery of that reason. That single reason was all
they lived and died for.
One
major reason why many people on the surface of the earth live miserable lives
is because they fail to find, live and walk in the purpose of their original
creation. Destiny is the key to fulfillment. In case you still have not gotten
the point of this chapter, let me share with you, a deep revelation about the
significance of you creation to the survival of the earth. I call the 400 million
sperm concept.
THE 400 MILLION SPERM CONCEPT
Science
has revealed to us that when a man and a woman engage in sexual intercourse not
minding where they hold it, whether in the car, bush, hotel or a shack, between
100 and 400 million sperms are released when the man releases his semen. Each
of these millions of sperm is a potential baby as they all carry the nucleus
required to fertilize the egg in the woman's ovary. As soon as they are
released, the millions of sperm all start to swim towards the ovary of the
woman. However, only one is really needed for fertilization.1
So,
this means that when your dad and mum came together to have you, your dad sent
out an army of sperms (about 400 million), all racing toward your mum's ovary.
But only one of them was really needed. However, because of destiny and God's
purpose, one of those sperms was empowered to outrun the others and became the
first to enter into the ovary and that was the one that became the baby. Guess
who that one was. Yes, you! God chose you from among 400 million potential
babies and caused you to be born.
Does
this not tell you that there is more to your life than mere existence? Can you
not understand that the One who chose you from among the others has a purpose
for your life? It should ignite in you a fire that you carry in you, something
that this generation needs? Why must it be you and not another sperm? Is it not
because God wanted you born for an assignment on earth? Why is it so difficult
for you to understand that you are very crucial to the fulfillment of God’s
agenda for the earth?
I
wonder what the world would have looked like without men and women like Albert
Einstein, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Martin Luther King jr., William
Henry Bill Gates III, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Obafemi Awolowo, David
Oyedepo, Sam Adeyemi, Myles Munroe, Wole
Soyinka, Gani Fawehinmi, Fanny J. Crosby, Hellen Keller and a host of others.
We
could exhale and thank God that these men and women were born, not because of
their beautiful cars, exotic houses or fancy clothes. But because of the great
impacts they have made on our world, the light they brought into our darkness,
the changes they made and the legacies they have left us. These have all come.
They saw (some are still seeing) and they have conquered (some are still
conquering). It's our time.
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