RESOLUTE PURPOSE

Bruce Springsteen is all but retired now, but in the 80's he was one of the hardest working people in the entertainment business. His concerts typically last 4 hours—and whether he is playing to 20,000 people in an outdoor arena, or just a few hundred people in a small room, he gives 100% of himself to every performance. The encore alone lasts 45 minutes. At one point in every performance the band dramatically stops playing and Springsteen shouts into the microphone, "I'm just a prisoner of rock and roll!"

All his life he's been obsessed with playing music. He is, indeed, a prisoner of rock and roll. Nothing could stand in his way. Springsteen pursued his career in music with unbridled enthusiasm, and ultimately became the biggest name in rock music. Only then did he decide to settle down, get married, and start a family. Till that moment, he gave his life to rock and roll. In the very same way, the Apostle Paul gave his life to preaching the gospel. In Romans Paul referred to himself as the bondservant or slave of Christ. In Ephesians chapter three he called himself the prisoner of the Lord. In verse seven of chapter three he says, "I became a servant of this gospel..."

Paul was consumed with a mission. It is important to understand that it was a radical mission. His purpose in life wasn't just to be a religious person and preach in church on Sunday. His purpose was much more innovative, much more dangerous, much more revolutionary than that. His purpose was save souls, change lives, and bring about worldwide racial equality through the ministry of the church. Notice at verse 6...through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise of Jesus Christ.

Paul was Jewish. Like most Jewish men of his time, he was raised to believe there are two types of people in the world: Jews, who are God's chosen people, and everyone else. In the early days of the church, many Jewish Christians would have been content to let Christianity remain exclusively Jewish. Paul couldn't do it, though. After his face-to-face meeting with Jesus, he recognized that he had a purpose in life: to bring Gentiles into the Christian faith. This made Paul unpopular in certain circles, but he never lost sight of his mission. 

 What about you? What's your mission? God has given you a purpose. Your purpose wasn't created to serve you—you were created to serve your purpose. The greatest resolution you can make this year is to decide "I will be a slave to the purpose God has for my life." We need to get past the idea that we need—or deserve—an easy life. Instead, our attitude must be: I am not an important person, but I have an important job to do.

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