Do You Have a Mission in Life?
Do You Have a Mission in Life?
On the Occasion of the Beginning of a New Year
Do you have a mission in life?
What is your mission? Does it have depth and importance?
How broad is your mission? And what spiritual element does it contain?
What have you achieved so far, and what do you still hope to achieve?
At the beginning of a new year, it is beautiful for a person to sit with himself, to examine where he stands and where he is heading.
Yet some people, in their moments of self-reflection, focus only on minor details, without taking a comprehensive look at their life as a whole—without asking themselves about their mission in life: What is it, and what have I accomplished through it?
First: Do You Have a Mission?
Do you feel that you have a mission in life—one that you live for, and because of which your life has become valuable to you and to others, giving your life meaning and flavor?
Or does your life pass by in a routine manner—one day handed over to the next—where each day is lived as a separate unit, detached from life as a whole, with the only concern being that the day passes peacefully and comes to an end?
Do people feel your presence and the impact of your life?
Is your mission clear and tangible, so that people sense its effectiveness? So much so that if you were absent one day, they would feel that you have left a void that no one else could fill?
Do people feel that your life is truly essential to theirs—that you play a role in their lives, whether they want it or not, willingly or unwillingly, because you perform a beneficial or comforting work they miss when it is absent, and long for when you are gone?
Have you become an integral part of their lives—someone they cannot do without?
Second: Is Your Mission Limited to Yourself, or Is It Beneficial to Others?
Many people have no concern beyond living, enjoying themselves, and achieving personal goals that grant them a certain status or fulfill inner desires.
Once they reach these goals, they feel satisfied, happy, and fulfilled, lacking nothing—while others and the rest of humanity fall completely outside their concern.
Those with great souls, however, feel that they have a mission toward others. They do not live for themselves, but for those around them. The more they bring happiness to others, the more they fulfill their mission.
Their mission is to make others happy, and for that purpose they are willing to give of themselves. They labor tirelessly so that those around them may find rest. They are constantly thinking—not about their own affairs—but about the good of others and how to care for them.
This is their mission in life.
A mission toward others differs in scope, in type, and in duration.
For some, their mission is limited to their immediate family—spouse, children, parents, or siblings—and perhaps extends to a wider family circle.
For others, their mission is directed toward their town, their local community, or an organization to which they belong, such as an association or union.
Some people’s missions extend to their entire nation, or even to all humanity—such as scientists who work for the benefit and comfort of mankind as a whole.
Third: What Is the Nature of Your Mission?
Is it social, cultural, or spiritual?
Some parents believe that their mission toward their children is fulfilled once they care for their physical health, provide material needs, complete their education, and ensure their marriage and stability.
Some even expand this mission by leaving their children an inheritance after death.
Yet the spiritual lives of these children, their relationship with God, and their eternal destiny may receive little attention. Worse still, the lives of the parents themselves may become a stumbling block that distances their children from God.
The same applies to social service. Many who work in social service believe that their mission is fulfilled by offering financial aid to the poor. Yet such aid may sometimes lead to deceit and manipulation, with people inventing false excuses to obtain money.
Despite the exhaustion involved in providing material care, souls may perish and be lost eternally.
Fourth: The Noblest Mission Is the Spiritual Mission
The noblest mission is the spiritual one—the mission that seeks the salvation of the soul and its eternal happiness.
Its means are leading people to repentance, purity of heart, and love of God, while offering every form of practical and sincere love to those in need.
How beautiful is what was said of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Who went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).
He cared for everyone—spiritually and physically: “Jesus went about all the cities and villages… preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matthew 9:35).
His heart was filled with love for all, expressed in His words: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Alongside spiritual work, there was care for people’s problems and efforts to relieve their suffering. Love was offered in both spiritual and material forms.
For you cannot preach to a hungry person and leave him hungry. As the Lord said: “These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone” (Matthew 23:23).
Thus, spiritual work and social work walk hand in hand.
The Lord Jesus preached to the crowds until the day grew late, then said: “I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way” (Matthew 15:32), and commanded His disciples to give them food.
Does your mission include both spiritual and social work—working for the salvation of souls while also solving people’s problems and easing their burdens?
Fifth: Does Your Mission Bear Fruit?
Is the word of God on your lips “living and powerful”? Does it carry the Spirit because it is spoken by someone filled with the Spirit, whose words are mixed with prayer?
Does your service bear fruit? Have you led many to the knowledge of God, so that you can say in the Kingdom: “Here am I and the children whom God has given me” (Hebrews 2:13)?
Does everyone who sees you love God because of you? Are they drawn toward God by your life and its influence?
Does your service continue to grow?
Have you obeyed the apostolic command: “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16)?
How profound is the life of those saints whose spiritual mission bore fruit! How beautiful is the apostolic saying: “He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).
Are you working within this scope, according to the grace God has given you and the stewardship entrusted to you—even within a narrow range, according to your talent?
Even through good example alone, without words, if God has not given you the gift of speech.
Many people’s mission in life was simply to be living icons in the Church—living letters, read by all.
They presented, through their lives, the image of God to everyone they encountered.
They were a practical example of righteousness, faith, and love of God.
They were a sermon, without being preachers.
“Whoever does and teaches, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19).
This is the truly great mission: to be the image and likeness of God, and to bear witness to Him according to your ability.
You do not enter the Kingdom of Heaven alone—those who loved God through you enter with you.
Thus, you bear fruit and become a wise builder in the Kingdom of God.
The Lord’s word warns us: “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30).
So, are you gathering with the Lord, following the words of Paul and Silas: “We are God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9)?
Many human works will eventually fade, bound only to this world and unable to reach heaven. They will vanish in eternity.
But spiritual work remains—it extends from here into eternity. Whoever chooses it has chosen the good portion that will not be taken away.
Are your works earthly or heavenly? Does your mission end with this earth, or does it reach into heaven?
Sixth: Is Your Mission Limited to Your Earthly Lifetime?
How many people’s mission ends with their earthly life! When they die, their works die with them and are soon forgotten.
But those with great spirits have missions that extend beyond their lifetime.
The Creed formulated by Saint Athanasius is still lived by today.
The monasticism founded by Saint Anthony still exists, alive and growing.
The writings of the Church Fathers continue to nourish the world with their spirituality and wisdom, now and in generations to come.
Their lives extended beyond their generation—their thoughts and works remain.
Is your mission of this kind—deep and enduring?
A person remains through his mission more than through his descendants.
His mission presents a truer and more accurate image of him than anything his children might convey.
Sit with yourself now and reflect: What is your mission in life?
If you have no mission, your life is wasted and without value.
Give your life value by fulfilling a work that is meaningful, lasting, and that accompanies you into eternity.
May you be well every year.
