Purpose Driven Life

> This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren , > "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in > California . > > In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: > > People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, > life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God > wants us to be with Him in Heaven. > One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- > but not the end of me. &g t; > I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of > years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. > > God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We > were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't > going to make sense. > > Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just > coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. > > The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than > your comfort. > > God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your > life happy. > We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. > The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. > > This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the > toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. > > I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark > time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that > anymore. > > Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like > two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good > and something bad in your life. > > No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad > that needs to be worked on. > > And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always > something good you can thank God for. > You can focus on your purpos es, or you can focus on your problems. > > If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which > is my problem, my issues, my pain." > But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off > yourself and onto God and others. > > We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of > thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for > her. > It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her > character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a > testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. > > You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. > Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For > instanc e, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million > copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. > > It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with > before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or > for you to live a life of ease. > > So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety > and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide > what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. > > First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our > lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. > Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the > church. > Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan< BR>> to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and > educate the next generation. > > Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I > started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able > to serve God for free. > > We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? > Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or > am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? > > When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if > I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You > better ... > God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more > interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human > beings, not human doings. > Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. > Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. > Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. > Painful moments, TRUST GOD. > Every moment, THANK GOD.