“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10).

The devotion last week focused on passion, and I said we would continue in the next few weeks to learn how to remember our first love or rediscover our passion. In his book, S.H.A.P.E., by Erik Rees, the author says, “God created you as a unique masterpiece because he has a specific purpose for your life—a specific and unique ‘contribution’ that only you can make…. It is what I like to call your unique Kingdom Purpose. I define Kingdom Purpose as your specific contribution to the body of Christ, within your generation, that causes you to totally depend on God and authentically display his love toward others…. Your Kingdom Purpose is way more than a career. It is a special commissioning from God to make a significant difference on this earth. It’s the banner of your life that you carry and wave for God’s glory. “

Rick Warren, in Purpose Driven Life, says “…God has given each of us a unique emotional ‘heartbeat’ that races when we think about the subjects, activities, or circumstances that interest us. We instinctively care about some things and not about others. These reveal the nature of your heart…(and) are clues to where you should be serving.”

Stop and think for a moment: What is your passion, your Kingdom Purpose? God has wired each of us differently. We each have a different set of spiritual gifts, talents and skills, personality traits, and experiences. And when you combine all that with something that really tugs at your hearts, then you can identify your passion. Maybe it’s children, maybe it’s families, maybe it’s justice, maybe it’s serving the least and the lost. My passion is education. I want to teach the truths of the Bible and how they can be applied to our daily lives so that we can walk more closely with God.  Your passion can evolve over time based on your circumstances, or it could be the constant theme of your life because of a single powerful experience. Your passion may be very focused, or it may be global. Your career may be your passion, or it may be that your current job is a means to accomplishing your passion. Whatever it is, you can be sure that God intends for you to have a Kingdom Purpose, and he will reveal it to you if you ask him.

Rees defines five passion principles that can inspire us to “dream big and think beyond our fears, in the process of discovering our own unique, emotional heartbeats for God:”

1. Know what drives you.
2. Know what you care about.
3. Know the needs you will meet.
4. Know the cause you will help conquer.
5. Know your ultimate dream for God’s kingdom.

All this may sound overwhelming and impossible but remember: “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

I challenge you to pray about your Kingdom Purpose. If you have questions about this, I encourage you to contact me. I would love to help you in your journey to discovering your passion.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).

In Christ,

Judy