"according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" ~Ephesians 3:11
In the Academy Award-winning film, Hugo, the titular character discusses with his newfound friend Isabelle the deep meaning of life without necessarily realizing it. His father keeps the clocks running at a train station in France. Those clocks serve the important purpose of keeping the trains running on time and ensuring people don't miss their train. He realizes that surely if machines have a purpose, then humans must have a purpose too.
Hugo says, "Everything has a purpose, even machines. Clocks tell the time, trains take you places, they do what they're meant to do. Maybe that's why broken machines make me so sad. They can't do what they're meant to do. Maybe it's the same with people. If you lose your purpose it's like you're broken."
A little later, he further solidifies his belief that everyone is here for a reason: "I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts you know? They always come with the exact amount they need. So, I figured if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason."
Hugo has exactly figured out the point Paul is making in Ephesians. Before time began, God had a purpose to reconcile His creation through Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus means when he says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to Father except through me" (John 14:6).
Through his death on the cross, Jesus accomplished the eternal purpose. We now have a way to come into a full relationship with our Creator. Just because Jesus has accomplished the eternal purpose doesn't mean we don't have a part to play. You see, Jesus had to accomplish his purpose first before our purpose could make sense.
Our purpose is not just to experience this incredible relationship, but to work with Christ, aided by the Holy Spirit to repair creation. Paul tells us, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Col. 3:23). Even when it feels like we're not accomplishing much with our life or not working towards something meaningful we must realize that as Christians we are working towards the eternal purpose: to love the Lord, to love others and in so doing bring the world and all of creation into the Kingdom of God.
Always improve the present moment.
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