Purpose found in following God's pattern

When Susie and I were

growing up, Mother made our

clothes. Cloth World was our

favorite store. Simplicity and

McCall’s patterns were common

things around our house.

Mother would spread the

material out on the kitchen

table, lay the pattern over the

material, pin the pieces to the

material with straight pins

and cut the pieces out.

She would not take a step

toward sewing unless the pattern

was cut out properly and

in place. She had to follow

the pattern, or it all would be

a big mess.

What about this pattern for

our lives? We all at times contemplate

the great questions

of life. What is the pattern,

meaning and purpose of life?

Sometimes I have looked

back and wonder why I made

certain choices or why I went

into education. Sometimes I

have gone to great lengths in

a flurry of activity to try and

find my purpose.

I am not alone. For centuries

people have wondered

about the purpose of life.

Paul had some simple

answers to these questions

that seem so difficult. Paul

was in Athens, in the city

square, the gathering place of

the city where everyone met

to exchange ideas, tell news

and philosophize about life.

He walked the streets and saw

all the statues to gods on display,

gods to everything. This

troubled him a great deal.

Then he saw one statue to a

god with the inscription that

read: “To the unknown God.”

I suppose they were afraid

that they might miss a god

(Acts 17:16-32).

So Paul seized on that. He

yearned to tell the people of

Athens about Christ and his

experiences with the Lord. So

he got their attention, in this

city gathering place where

everyone exchanged ideas

and boldly began to preach

about the unknown God.

He told them that he recognized

that they were a religious

people because he had

walked around the city and

seen all their gods. But he

said he was there to tell them

about one god, the unknown

God. Paul told them that in

knowing this unknown God

they could find the pattern,

purpose and meaning of their

lives.

Paul told them that we have

our beginnings in God — we

are from his pattern. That

makes us have incredible

worth. The Bible says that he

knew from the foundations of

the Earth that we would be

here. Where did we come

from? We came from God.

Then Paul answered the

question about the meaning of

life. He said the meaning of

life is to follow the pattern

that God has set before us.

Paul says that we are here to

glorify God.

So what is the meaning of

life? It is to live in such a way

as to glorify the one who created

us.

Then Paul answered another

question: Where are we

going? He told the crowd that

there will be judgment. There

is an eternity. Our purpose is

to live life and glorify God

and live forever in eternity

with him.

The dresses Mother made

for us always fit well. She

carefully followed the pattern

as best she could. As a result,

we were proud to wear them

because our mother had made

them.

I know that life does not

always go that smoothly, but

there seems to be a parallel.

The source of our lives, the

pattern of our lives and the

purpose of our lives will be

known to us, and will be a

good fit if we know the one

who created us.

Judy Brandon is a Clovis

resident. Contact her at:

[email protected]