Why Am I Here?
Helping Our Children Discover Their God-Given Purpose
Before we dive into this week’s post, I want to apologize for not posting recently. Over the past two weeks, I had the opportunity to travel to Bolivia on a mission trip, and I had the joy of bringing my son Thiago with me. We served at an orphanage called Casa de Esperanza together, and during that time, he was able to see firsthand that even as a kid, he can play a meaningful role in God’s mission. Watching him serve, listen, and encourage others reminded me just how important it is to include our children in ministry and not just talk to them about it.
I want my son to know that his life has a God-given purpose that goes far beyond his comfort, desires, or personal dreams. He is part of the body of Christ, and that body has a mission. He belongs to something bigger than himself.
That idea is exactly what we’re exploring today: What is our purpose?
If our children believe they belong to Christ and that their identity is found in Him, there is one more question they will inevitably ask: What am I here for? And depending on the answer, they will either grow weary trying to prove their value or walk in joyful obedience to the purpose God has already given them.
We live in a culture that insists each person must create their own meaning. From early ages, kids are told to chase their dreams, find their passion, and make something of themselves. That sounds inspiring, but in reality it puts enormous pressure on young hearts to figure everything out and get it right. If you are the one responsible for crafting your own meaning, then any failure or misstep feels catastrophic.
A few years ago, I came across a tweet from Taylor Swift that captures this well. She wrote:
“I know it can be really overwhelming figuring out who to be, and when. Who you are now and how to act in order to get where you want to go. I have some good news: it’s totally up to you. I also have some terrifying news: it’s totally up to you.”¹
That is exactly the kind of pressure our kids are under. They are led to believe that their identity and purpose are something that I have to come up with, and this is an overwhelming concept. But the Bible gives us a far better story. One in which we don’t make up our purpose, we receive it.
Carl Trueman describes the modern mindset this way:
“A mimetic view regards the world as having a given order and a given meaning and thus sees human beings as required to discover that meaning and conform themselves to it. Poiesis, by way of contrast, sees the world as so much raw material out of which meaning and purpose can be created by the individual.”²
In other words, our culture treats the world as a blank canvas and tells each person to become their own artist, designer, and author of purpose. Christianity, on the other hand, says that the canvas has already been painted by God. Our job is not to invent our purpose but to live in joyful alignment with the purpose He has already revealed.
That is why the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is so important:
“What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”³
That answer is both freeing and grounding. It reminds us that our lives are not random. We were made to reflect God’s glory and find our joy in Him. And if we are going to raise kids who can resist the lies of a sexualized, self-focused culture, we must teach them this early.
Because here is the reality. If our kids believe they belong to themselves, and that their identity is theirs to define, they will also assume that their purpose is theirs to decide. In that mindset, the highest goal becomes personal happiness. But happiness is an ever-moving target. What made us happy at age 7 does not work at age 17, and it likely will not hold up at 27. If purpose is tied to our shifting desires, it will always leave us restless.
That is why grounding our children in God’s purpose is essential. Paul reminds the Ephesians:
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace.” (Ephesians 1:4–6)
According to this passage, God's purpose for His children is clear. We were made:
To be holy
To live as adopted sons and daughters
To praise His glorious grace
This is what we were made for. And when we live into that purpose, we discover that glorifying God and enjoying Him are not competing goals. They are one and the same. As John Piper has famously put it, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”⁴
That truth runs against everything our culture says about purpose. Disney tells our children to break the rules, follow their hearts, and chase their dreams. But Scripture tells them to lay down their lives and follow Christ. Jesus Himself said:
“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24–25)
That is the paradox of the Christian life. True purpose, true joy, and true freedom are found not in self-expression but in self-denial. Not in chasing meaning but in receiving it from the One who made us.
If we want to raise faithful disciples in a sexualized and confused world, we must disciple them into a purpose that is bigger than themselves. They were not made to follow their hearts. They were made to follow Christ.
So let’s teach them this. Let’s remind them that they do not belong to themselves. Their identity is not up for grabs. And their purpose is not up to them. It is already written, and it is a good one.
Footnotes:
Taylor Swift, Twitter, November 2019.
Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Crossway, 2020), 40–41.
Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 1.
John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah, 1986), 10.