My wife and I are finally getting around to looking through the numerous boxes of things that we thought were so important that we just had to move them here when we settled into this house nearly five years ago.

 Some of the things we have found are valuable to us, if not to anyone else. Many of the books, papers, pictures and little odds and ends bring back precious memories of good times spent with family and friends.

On the other hand, we have found some things that not only have absolutely no value to us now, we have to wonder what we were thinking when we acquired these objects in the first place! I can’t for the life of me figure out what purpose some of this junk was supposed to serve!

As we take inventory of our lives, it is important that we consider what our purpose is. After all, none of us wants to waste our life. Most people have a strong desire to live a life that is useful and filled with meaning. Colossians 1 talks about how Jesus is the supreme Son of God, and v.16 reminds us that all things, including us, “…have been created through him and for him.” We must always remember that our reason for existing is to live for God—this is the purpose that we must serve.

In Acts 13, we find Paul preaching a sermon about God’s plan to save mankind through Jesus. As an example of one who was a part of this plan, Paul talks about David. V.22 says, “…God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” Later in that chapter, Paul says this about David’s death—“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep…” (v.36).

David showed us how to serve our purpose in life, and we would do well to follow his example.

David was a man after God’s own heart. By no means does this mean that David was perfect! David sinned greatly! However, he repented of his sin, and the main focus of his life was to live for God. He was a man of prayer and worship. The psalms that he wrote show us a picture of a man whose utmost desire was to please his Creator and Redeemer. We, too, must strive to align our hearts with the heart of God. The things that please him should please us. The things that make God sad should make us sad also. Our lifelong ambition should be to become more and more a person after God’s own heart.

How do we do that? Through obedience. God said that David “…will do everything I want him to do.” (v.22). The Bible continually stresses the need to obey God. The blessings of obedience are made clear, as are the curses of disobedience. Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commands.”

It is a pure and simple truth that in order to be a person after God’s own heart, you have to do what he says. We must obey God at all times. We must obey him when it is inconvenient. We must obey him when it is very difficult. We must obey him when it is costly to do so. We must obey him even if it causes people to misunderstand us. We must obey him when people oppose us. We must obey him when it seems like it won’t make any difference. Those who follow Jesus must develop a lifestyle of doing what God says to do, over and over again.

They say that God doesn’t make any junk. I think that’s true. We are all made in his image. However, some people choose to end up on the junk heap of life by their continual disregard for God’s commands.

Don’t waste your life! Do your best every day to serve your purpose by obeying what God has called you to do in this generation.