Preparing Students for a life of Purpose
In 2002, Rick Warren published an amazing little book called The Purpose Driven Life. The devotional book sold over 20 million copies and topped the Wall Street Journal Best Seller chart, proving, at least in my mind, that people all over the world are searching to find a meaningful purpose to their lives. It would seem that human beings desperately want their lives to have a deeper meaning, which is really nothing new. In fact, in the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon recounts his many efforts to find meaning in what he calls a “wearisome” life full of toil and trouble. In an active attempt to find purpose, Solomon undertakes all sorts of things. He indulges in pleasure. He tries to find love. He attains knowledge. He works hard and acquires wealth. Yet even after all of this, even after becoming the richest, wisest, most sought after man in the ancient world, he concludes that everything is “meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
Today, we need only to look to Hollywood or Wall Street or the NFL to see that even the most beautiful, smartest, most savvy and talented people on earth will never be truly fulfilled without a deeper purpose to their lives. Biblically, we know God wired us that way. In 8th grade New Testament, we are currently discussing what scholars call The Great Commission. This is the part of the Bible where Jesus tells His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28: 19 -20). This commission, or charge, is still ours today and it is the very thing that gives our lives a deeper purpose.
What I love about teaching at Gramercy is that we are able to explain this very important part of what it means to be not only a follower of Christ, but also a human being. We have the privilege of encouraging our students to reach outside of themselves and consider how their lives might be more joyful and more meaningful as they answer the call of Christ. Even psychologists and medical doctors have concluded that people are happier and more fulfilled when they are less selfish and self-focused. Our prayer at Gramercy is that our graduates will take seriously the Lord’s charge that they spend their lives for a great and noble cause and in service to other people. The world has not changed all that much since the days of Solomon. People are still desperate to know their lives matter and God has the answer to that longing.
Please join us in praying that God will raise up our young men and women to do great things for the Kingdom of God and for the world at large.