Non-negotiable Purpose Statement
by Jeremy McMorris
Text: Col 1:15-18

    Purpose statements are extremely helpful for businesses, teams, ministries, etc. They not only help us know why the organization exists, but they help that organization stay on task. All great businesses have a clear purpose statement.
    People have purpose statements, too. What’s yours? If I asked you, “What’s the purpose of your existence?” What would be your answer? Or, perhaps more telling, if I asked your three closest friends, “What the purpose of _______’s (your name) existence?” What would they tell me?
    According to our own way of thinking, we are the ones who determine the answer to this question. But if we go to the Scripture first, we realize that we aren’t given the option of answering this question for ourselves. The Bible makes it clear that we exist to show that Jesus Christ is preeminent (Col. 1:18). Biblically, our purpose statement for living as Christians is non-negotiable. As the Westminster divines worded it, “Man’s primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
    Colossians 1 teaches us why we are to live for the preeminence of Christ. First of all, we are made by Christ (vs 16). Christ is the Creator of everything, which, of course, includes . . . us!
    Secondly, Christ created everything for Himself (vs 16). Just as you or I might build something at our own house for our own purposes, so Christ made us for Himself. He is the creator and owner.
    Thirdly, Christ is the sustainer of all things (vs 17). He keeps everything “going.” He keeps the planets twirling, the wind blowing, the fish swimming, and your heart beating. He sustains your life every moment.
    So, as creator, owner, and sustainer, He gets to “call the shots.” He says, “All things exist to show that I am in first place.” That’s not egocentric for God to say. That is appropriate. He IS the center of everything. He IS “number one.”
    Whether you are a teacher, lawyer, farmer, builder, homemaker, pastor, or police officer, your primary purpose is the same--to show that Jesus Christ is in first place. We must live in such a way that others see in our lives and hear in our words the fact that Jesus really is number one.
    What’s your purpose statement? I’m not asking, “What is the correct biblical answer to this question?” I am asking, “For what purpose are you now living?” What does your free time show that you’re living for? What does your checkbook show that you’re living for? What does your conversation say that you’re living for?
    Brothers and sisters, let me encourage you, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, to live in such a way that you can truly say, “The purpose of my life is to show that Jesus Christ is preeminent.