Four Steps to Writing Your Biblical Purpose Statement

This is adapted from the first chapter of Mapping Your Future: Discovering God’s Unique Purpose for Your Life. The complete workbook will be available on February 1.

I probably don’t need to take you out in the woods blindfolded and spin you around ten times to show you how it feels to be lost. It’s frightening. It’s even worse to be wandering through life only to realize that you don’t know where you are, how you got here, or which way to go.

A compass helps. A compass reorients you to a fixed location so you can figure out a general direction to head. Taking time to write your own biblical purpose statement will help orient you to a fixed position—the timeless truth of God’s Word—and give you a general direction to head.

Writing a Biblical Purpose Statement

The Bible is the best place to start when seeking to discover our purpose in life. God wants us to understand why we have been created so he reveals his purposes in the pages of the Bible.

Step 1: Understand God’s Purposes for All Believers

Throughout the Bible, God reveals his purposes for all believers. Review the verses on the following chart and record your insights about why you have been created. These insights may apply to all believers, but they form a biblical foundation for the purpose statement you will develop.

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39, NLT).

“Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you…” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT).

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” (John 13:34, NLT).

“But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own” (2 Corinthians 4:7, NLT).

“God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT).

“For I live in eager expectation and hope that . . . my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die” (Philippians 1:20, NLT).

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. . . .” (Philippians 3:8, NLT).

“The Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8, NLT).

Step 2: Understand God’s Purposes for Me

During the course of your lifetime, God has undoubtedly used some Bible verses to give you focus, purpose, and direction. List the meaningful verses in your life and the insights you gained from each verse. These insights reveal a more specific purpose that is unique to your life.

Step 3: Summarize My Purpose

Review your insights from the Bible and write down several short statements about God’s purpose for your life.

Step 4: Write a Biblical Purpose Statement

A biblical purpose statement should be a concise expression of why a person exists, based on the message of scripture.

There are no right and wrong answers here. Your purpose statement will reflect a biblical understanding of your unique purpose, so while it may seem broad and universal (for all believers), your statement will reflect your perspective on your life purpose.

Notice in these examples how they each ring true of biblical truth, and yet they are distinctly different.

Example 1: My purpose is to bring glory to God through consistent worship of him, to cultivate an inner life that reflects the grace of God, and to equip men and women for ministry.

Example 2: God created me to enter a love relationship with him that shows others his deep commitment to me through his power to change my life.

Example 3: I exist to know Christ intimately and become like him, developing his character in my life and to love other people and make disciples by pointing them toward Christ.

Based on your study of God’s Word, write your biblical purpose statement. If you need help getting started, try one of these phrases:

My purpose is . . .

God created me to . . .

I exist to . . .

Make several drafts and write what comes to mind and then edit them into one sentence that best captures what seems important to you.

This is adapted from the first chapter of Mapping Your Future: Discovering God’s Unique Purpose for Your Life. The complete workbook will be available on February 1.

Photo purchased to support artists. © iStockphoto.com / Chad McDermott