The Purpose Driven Life
what on earth am I here for?
By RICK WARREN
ZONDERVAN
Copyright © 2012 Rick Warren
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-33750-8
Contents
A Journey with Purpose, 11,
A New Edition for a New Generation, 15,
My Covenant, 17,
WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?,
DAY 1 It All Starts with God, 21,
DAY 2 You Are Not an Accident, 26,
DAY 3 What Drives Your Life?, 31,
DAY 4 Made to Last Forever, 39,
DAY 5 Seeing Life from God's View, 44,
DAY 6 Life Is a Temporary Assignment, 50,
DAY 7 The Reason for Everything, 56,
PURPOSE #1: You Were Planned for God's Pleasure,
DAY 8 Planned for God's Pleasure, 65,
DAY 9 What Makes God Smile?, 71,
DAY 10 The Heart of Worship, 79,
DAY 11 Becoming Best Friends with God, 87,
DAY 12 Developing Your Friendship with God, 94,
DAY 13 Worship That Pleases God, 102,
DAY 14 When God Seems Distant, 109,
PURPOSE #2: You Were Formed for God's Family,
DAY 15 Formed for God's Family, 119,
DAY 16 What Matters Most, 125,
DAY 17 A Place to Belong, 132,
DAY 18 Experiencing Life Together, 140,
DAY 19 Cultivating Community, 146,
DAY 20 Restoring Broken Fellowship, 153,
DAY 21 Protecting Your Church, 161,
PURPOSE #3: You Were Created to Become Like Christ,
DAY 22 Created to Become Like Christ, 171,
DAY 23 How We Grow, 179,
DAY 24 Transformed by Truth, 184,
DAY 25 Transformed by Trouble, 192,
DAY 26 Growing through Temptation, 200,
DAY 27 Defeating Temptation, 208,
DAY 28 It Takes Time, 215,
PURPOSE #4: You Were Shaped for Serving God,
DAY 29 Accepting Your Assignment, 225,
DAY 30 Shaped for Serving God, 232,
DAY 31 Understanding Your Shape, 239,
DAY 32 Using What God Gave You, 247,
DAY 33 How Real Servants Act, 254,
DAY 34 Thinking Like a Servant, 262,
DAY 35 God's Power in Your Weakness, 269,
PURPOSE #5: You Were Made for a Mission,
DAY 36 Made for a Mission, 279,
DAY 37 Sharing Your Life Message, 287,
DAY 38 Becoming a World-Class Christian, 295,
DAY 39 Balancing Your Life, 303,
DAY 40 Living with Purpose, 310,
DAY 41 The Envy Trap, 319,
DAY 42 The People-Pleaser Trap, 328,
APPENDIX 1 Discussion Questions, 339,
APPENDIX 2 Resources, 343,
APPENDIX 3 Why Use So Many Translations?, 345,
Notes, 347,
CHAPTER 1
DAY 1
It All Starts with God
For everything, absolutely everything,above and below, visible and invisible, ...everything got started in him andfinds its purpose in him.
COLOSSIANS 1:16 (MSG)
Unless you assume a God, the questionof life's purpose is meaningless.
BERTRAND RUSSELL, ATHEIST
It's not about you.
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personalfulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greaterthan your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams andambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet,you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for hispurpose.
The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people forthousands of years. That's because we typically begin at the wrongstarting point—ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like Whatdo I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals,my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselveswill never reveal our life's purpose. The Bible says, "It is God whodirects the lives of his creatures; everyone's life is in his power."
Contrary to what many popular books, movies, and seminars tellyou, you won't discover your life's meaning by looking within yourself.You have probably tried that already. You didn't create yourself, sothere is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for! If Ihanded you an invention you had never seen before, you wouldn'tknow its purpose, and the invention itselfwouldn't be able to tell you either. Only thecreator or the owner's manual could revealits purpose.
I once got lost in the mountains. WhenI stopped to ask for directions to thecampsite, I was told, "You can't get there from here. You must startfrom the other side of the mountain!" In the same way, you cannotarrive at your life's purpose by starting with a focus on yourself. Youmust begin with God, your Creator. You exist only because God willsthat you exist. You were made by God and for God—and until youunderstand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God thatwe discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, oursignificance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end.
Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, butthat is a reversal of nature and is doomed to failure. You were madefor God, not vice versa, and life is about letting God use you for hispurposes, not your using him for your own purpose. The Bible says,"Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to Godleads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life."
I have read many books that suggest ways to discover the purposeof my life. All of them could be classified as "self-help" books becausethey approach the subject from a self-centered viewpoint. Self-helpbooks, even Christian ones, usually offer the same predictable steps tofinding your life's purpose: Consider your dreams. Clarify your values.Set some goals. Figure out what you are good at. Aim high. Go forit! Be disciplined. Believe you can achieve your goals. Involve others.Never give up.
Of course, these recommendations often lead to great success.You can usually succeed in reaching a goal if you put your mind toit. But being successful and fulfilling your life's purpose are not at allthe same issue! You could reach all your personal goals, becoming araving success by the world's standard, and still miss the purposesfor which God created you. You need more than self-help advice. TheBible says, "Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way,to finding yourself, your true self."
This is not a self-help book. It is not about finding the right career,achieving your dreams, or planning your life. It is not about how tocram more activities into an overloaded schedule. Actually, it willteach you how to do less in life—by focusing on what matters most. Itis about becoming what God created you to be.
How, then, do you discover the purpose you were created for? Youhave only two options. Your first option is speculation. This is whatmost people choose. They conjecture, they guess, they theorize. Whenpeople say, "I've always thought life is ...," they mean, "This is the bestguess I can come up with."
For thousands of years, brilliant philosophers have discussed andspeculated about the meaning of life. Philosophy is an importantsubject and has its uses, but when it comes to determining thepurpose of life, even the wisest philosophers are just guessing.
Dr. Hugh Moorhead, a philosophy professor at NortheasternIllinois University, once wrote to 250 of the best-known philosophers,scientists, writers, and intellectuals in the world, asking them, "Whatis the meaning of life?" He then publishedtheir responses in a book. Some offeredtheir best guesses, some admitted thatthey just made up a purpose for life, andothers were honest enough to say theywere clueless. In fact, a number...
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