Finding Your Purpose Worksheet

Finding Your Purpose Consider how what you have learned throughout the course will impact your future. Explain how to find your purpose by answering the following questions. Include citations and references from the topic study materials. 1. Summarize the concept of missio Dei (missional purpose). Your answer in 100-150 words: “Missio Dei, which means "mission of God" or "sending of God," is rooted in an understanding of the essential nature of the Trinity that results in the action of mission” (Pasley, 2020, Missio Dei section, para. 1). God himself does not wait for people to come to Him, He sent himself into the world through Jesus Christ to deliver Himself to people and to share His gospel. God also sent church into the world to carry on His mission of salvation and healing. Missio Dei is to encourage Christians to live out God’s mission of sending out His gospel and to continue to serve Him (Pasley, 2020, Missio Dei section, para. 2). 2. Summarize Buechner's concept of finding your purpose and explain how this aligns with the way you live out your worldview (missional purpose). Your answer in 100-150 words: Buechner’s concept of finding your purpose is to know what mission God is calling you to and to discern the work unenjoyable to oneself (Pasley, 2020, Find Your Purpose section, para. 3). Buechner explains how if someone is enjoying their work, but it is meaningless, then they have probably not found their purpose just like if they are doing work that is meaningful, but they are not enjoying it, then they have probably not found their purpose there either. One will know they have found their purpose when they are enjoying the work that they are contributing to the world. "The place where God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet" (Pasley, 2020, Find Your Purpose section, para. 3). This aligns with the way I live out my worldview because I believe that my purpose is to help people through whatever struggles they may be going through. I believe that my relationship with God has made me enjoy helping others. 3. Reflect on your beliefs about origins (creational purpose) and describe how those beliefs contribute to your understanding of human purpose. Your answer in 100-150 words: The Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982/2018., Genesis 1:1). My belief is exactly what is said in the Bible. I believe that God created the world I live in and everything that is included in the world. That starts with the heavens and the earth and ends with humankind. God created everyone and everything with a purpose in mind. People often times question what their purpose might be. However, even with skeptical thinking, every human was put on this earth to flourish, grow, and continue their relationship with God. 4. Describe how Jesus's statement of overarching purpose in the commandment to love God and love others as ourselves can be lived in and out of the workplace. Your answer in 100-150 words: The commandment to love God and love others as yourselves is one that should be taken very seriously. For a Christian, that is to be expected every day, all day. God wants everyone to love and treat others with respect, as they would want to be treated with love and respect. This can be lived in and out of the workplace in many ways. Inside the workplace, if someone is working next to someone and sees that they are having a rough day, they can offer to give them a hand so they can step out and take a breather. Outside of the workplace, if someone sees their neighbor come home from the store with multiple bags of groceries, they could offer to help them carry them inside. “We are re-energized toward living in healthy relationships, work, and with God” (Grand Canyon University, 2021, Purposeful Living section, para. 1). 5. Describe how your future career can be an opportunity to help others flourish, to be purposeful, and to do no harm. Your answer in 100-150 words: My future career is to be a therapist for people battling addiction. That addiction could be alcohol, drugs, gambling, cigarettes, etc. They might have spent years doing harm to themselves or others and I would be there to help them flourish into a better version of themselves. I would do so by offering a listening ear, showing compassion, and by telling them encouraging words about how to build a relationship with God, themselves, and people around them. All things work together for good for those who love God and for those who are called according to his purpose (Grand Canyon University, 2021, Purposeful Living section, para. 2). I would help someone become purposeful by putting them on the right path to finding a job that they might be interested in. I would offer a letter of recommendation to get them started or even get them set up with a volunteer program for the mean time.