How can I help my children see that life is not about reaching our own goals?

Q: How can I help my children see that life is not about reaching our own goals but searching out how God would help us fulfill the purposes He has for us? — C.P.

A: Some people are focused on using all their energies to reach their goals. Others drift through life with little purpose or direction, living for the moment and never thinking about where they are headed. Most people probably live somewhere in between. But they all have this in common: They are living only for themselves and their own happiness.

Down inside we all sense that this was not the way life was meant to be, and we want something better—and we search for it. We suspect there must be another way, a different path from the one we’ve been traveling. But why do so few people seem to find it? Why have we missed it? Can life be any different?

The answer is yes! No matter what our lives have been, the rest of the journey can be different.

When we come to Christ, God gives us a new purpose. He helps us begin again. He helps us confront our problems and deal with them, and this helps us avoid life’s pitfalls and detours. More than that, God can help us make an impact on our world. When we begin to live according to His purpose, and not our own purposes, we see other people differently—not for what they can do for us, but what we can do for them. Ask God for the good way—the better way—and walk in it (Jeremiah 6:16).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

©2021 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c)2021 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.