Adopted for a Purpose

Written by Lyndell Enns

I was just three months old when my parents adopted me. Lying in a motel dresser drawer that very first night, I looked up at my new parents with distrust and suspicion, as if to say, ‘You just try to control me!’ My ornery streak was obvious from day one, but incredibly, I was now in a home where firm and loving parents would put me in touch with my Maker.

Thanks to my new parents, I learned that after life there is an eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell. It was easy enough to decide which was better. When I learned that receiving Christ was the only way to heaven, I knelt with my father, and asked Jesus to forgive my sins and give me eternal life.

The purpose of life

I lived smugly until a certain question began to haunt me: What is the purpose of life?

What are we here for anyway—to live, make babies and then die? I was not interested in chasing after material riches only to leave them behind in 70 years. There just wasn’t a good reason for living anymore. Nothing I could do was going to matter in a hundred years anyway, much less for eternity.

But at a summer Bible Camp I learned that there was a purpose for my life. It came from God. I learned from the Bible that God made me to relate personally with Him, to know Him and to love Him.

I learned that completely giving my life over to Him was the key to an abundant and meaningful life. Suddenly, my life had purpose and significance. I was created to know God and to glorify Him for eternity.

Eternal significance

It was only minutes after realizing my purpose that I also discovered the plan that would bring eternal significance to my life. I was to share the truth and meaning that I had found in Christ, with others. I realized that pointing people to Christ helps change their destiny for eternity, just like my adopted parents helped to change my eternal destiny.

My nature is to be selfish and proud. I have a natural tendency to continually take the steering wheel of my life away from Christ. In my life, Christ has replaced a meaningless life. With Jesus, you can find the meaningful life you were meant to have.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.