Find Out Your Purpose in Life, Part 2: Overcoming Loneliness

By Zach3000, 24th Sep 2011 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/2a1s6850/
Posted in Wikinut>Family>Religion

Have you ever stopped to think about your meaning in life? Do you even have time to stop in this fast-paced world? If you don't, you may find yourself at the end of life, wondering what you really lived for. Part two of Find Your Purpose in Life will explain how you can overcome loneliness by first understanding your true purpose.

Your Purpose in Life is Directly Related to Loneliness
Sin and Salvation
Fellowship
Finding a Church will Provide a Community of Friends

Your Purpose in Life is Directly Related to Loneliness

Head in hands

Note: This is part two of how to find your true purpose in life. You can read part one here.

By this point, hopefully you now understand the first key concept of finding your true purpose in life. Just to recap, the first principle in this series is to: Muse on God

If you live a life in the fast-lane, chances are you may not actually stop and think about the great things God has done. In fact, some people actually have a hard time slowing down. Some people fall into a depression when their normal routine is broken, when one has to sit down and think. It is not uncommon to go on Facebook and see someone's status as "bored." At least they are being honest with us, because many of us find ourselves in that very same situation.

So how do you overcome loneliness, which has progressed to the point of boredom? Good question, since is it directly related to understanding your purpose in life.

The next step to understanding your true purpose in life is: to receive salvation through the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Sin and Salvation

Missed the mark

One of the most important steps in overcoming loneliness and understanding your purpose in life involves pursuing a personal relationship with God through the Lord, Jesus Christ.

That relationship only begins once a person personally and individually goes to God in prayer, asking for the forgiveness of their own sins. Sin is what keeps every person from God. The Greek word for sin is hamartia, which means to "miss the mark."

It is not hard to see that each one of us misses the mark individually, by comparing our life to the 10 Commandments. If you have never done this, why don't you take a moment right now and see how well you do here.

Once you truly understand what sin is, then you will realize how serious it is, and why each one of us must get right with God. The first step to getting right with God is to ask Him in prayer to forgive you, and believe that Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of everyone, then have a spirit of repentance. The word repent actually comes from the Greek word, metanoia, which means to "change your mind" or literally, to turn away from. A repentant heart would mean that a person does not want to go back to their previous sins.

After you have done this and gotten right with God, He then provides the Holy Spirit. John 14:16 in the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as "the Helper", or "the Comforter". The Holy Spirit is also referred as "the Advocate," as one who intercedes for Christians (Romans 8:27)

It is important to understand that once one becomes a Christian, this person is never alone again, because a Christian takes the Holy Spirit with him everyone he goes, as now the body is a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Once a person trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior, then it is important for this person to then find a Bible-believing church to go to. There, the believer will learn more about the Bible and about the importance of fellowship with other believers.

Fellowship

People praying

The third important element to understanding your purpose in life is: to experience true fellowship among Christ followers.

After putting your faith in Jesus, then one must find a church so one may fellowship with other believers. The word fellowship comes from the Greek word, koinonia, which means "that which we have in common."

Once a person becomes a Christian, fellowship is vital to growing in the faith. You may also note that a Christian hanging out with non-Christians are not having true fellowship, because they don't share the commonality in Christ.

That is not to say that Christians can't or shouldn't be around non-believers, but one will not experience the true fellowship that the Bible says all Christians need to grow (Hebrews 10:24-25) because where two or three (or more) believers are gathered together, there Christ is there among them (Matthew 8:20).

Finding a Church will Provide a Community of Friends

Now you understand how one receives salvation, and then the importance of fellowship among believers -- you will now see why a believer in Christ should not have an issue of loneliness.

Meeting with other believers on a regular basis each week is how God intended us to live. Our lives were meant to intertwine with others that encourage and love us, just as a family would. A church provides this community of believers that will grow you in faith, and provides friends that you otherwise would not have.

Continue reading the Find Your Purpose in Life series: part three can be read here.