Almost 30 years ago, I took several days during a vacation to evaluate all that I was doing and to state in one brief sentence what my purpose in life was (my Mission Statement) – i.e. Why do I get out of bed in the morning? What is it that drives me day in and day out?

The statement I wrote back then has been a guiding compass over the last few decades. I still have this statement as part of my daily prayer list to help keep me centered on what is most important.

Here is my life’s mission statement…

When I come to the end of my life and have nothing but death to look forward to and nothing but memories to look back upon, I want to be able to say that I sought to be…

• God’s man (2 Cor. 5:15; 1 Thess. 2:4)
• in God’s place (Acts 20:24)
• doing God’s work (1 Cor. 3:6-8; 1 Cor. 15:58)
• for God’s glory! (1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 1:21; 1 Peter 4:10-11)

To explain what I mean by those four brief statements:

• I don’t want to be “my own man” (or as Frank Sinatra said, “I Did It My Way”). I only want to be God’s man.
• I don’t want to do ministry in someone else’s place; only the place that God has called me… no matter where that is or how small and seemingly insignificant.
• I don’t want to do anyone else’s work, only the work that God has called me to do (Acts 20:24).
• And finally, my ultimate reason for living, my reason for breathing air each day, my reason for taking up space on this dust chip called planet earth, is to live for God’s glory. Not my glory. Not some ministry’s glory. Only God’s glory. It’s not about me. It’s about Him.

What’s your mission statement? If you haven’t written one, I would encourage you to do so.